


Dragon Studies and Snowology

by loozje



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies), Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Blood Magic, HiJack Big Bang, HiJack Big Bang 2015, Hints at Heatstrid, M/M, Mentions of Death, Modern magic AU, Smut, some minor voilence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-22
Updated: 2015-04-22
Packaged: 2018-03-25 06:25:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 30,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3800206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loozje/pseuds/loozje
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For his final exam Hiccup's dragon Toothless had been turned from a dragon into a cat, and if Hiccup wants to earn the right to call himself a Witch and gain access to his mother's Grimoire, he has to change him back.  But things are not going the way they should and foul play might be involved. Luckily for him, Hiccup bumps into the new intern Jack frost, an Ice Mage, who might just have the answer to his problems.</p><p>Written for Hijack Big Bang 2015</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dragon Studies and Snowology

**Author's Note:**

> Beta: Cashewkitty
> 
> Artists: Amymvuong and Aki/Chantepreulex

“Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, please step forward.”

A boy with shaggy brown hair stepped into the center of the room. In front of him, behind a large crescent table, sat five individuals, all making a rather unique impression. The one that had spoken was seated in the middle, a large burly man dressed in traditional red robes, decorated with patterns in black and white. He scratched his long white beard as he observed the boy with twinkling eyes. So this was the promising dragon master they had all heard of. He shared a look with his colleagues; the boy had caught their attention as well. Wonderful, this would be interesting.

“You have come here today because you feel that your training is complete and you wish to take your final exam. Is that correct?” A different man asked, this one donning green robes with grey fur, different tools hanging from his belt. The man looked a bit skeptical about the boy in front of him, but if the rumors were true there would be no need for despair.

“Yes. I am ready.” Hiccup answered as well as his nerves allowed. Even though he had been preparing for this for years, and he was sure that he was indeed ready, he still felt the slight uneasiness that crept up on anyone taking tests.

“We’ll be the judge of that.” Another sneered, this one dressed from head to toe in a black cloth that seemed to melt right into his greyish skin. He was interrupted by the only female of the five.

“No need for such hostility. This is an exciting time.” She chattered, causing the feathers and golden trinkets on her turban to swing from side to side. Her Sari followed a similar pattern, multiple shades of green and blue seeming to merge into each other.

“My name is Professor Toothiana. This is Professor Nicolas North.” She waved to the man in red, who nodded a kind smile. “Professor E. Aster Bunnymund, who still hasn’t told me what the E stands for.” This time, the man in green grumbled a bit in acknowledgement. “Professor Pitch Black —”

“Professor Kozmotis Pitchiner Black, please!” The man in black insisted.

“Come now, Pitch. No formalities needed. We all have nicknames. Might also be for the better, with name like Kozmotis.” Professor North smiled, amused at his little joke, and much to the dismay of Professor Black.

“And finally —Oh, Sandy.” Professor Toothiana looked at the person next to her with an amused smile. It was a short man in golden glittering robes, who seemed to be sleeping. She quickly shook him awake. “It’s time for the exam. Come on, say hi.” The man snapped out of his daze and enthusiastically stared to wave. “This would be Professor Sanderson Mansnoozie. And that’s all, I think —Oh, North, weren’t we supposed to get that intern today?”

“The bloody dingo is late.” Professor Bunnymund scoffed. “I say we start without him.”

“But—”

“He will come.” Professor North reassured them. “I can feel it in —”

“In your belly.” Professor Black finished, seeming uninterested in the whole conversation. “Yes, however well that might be, North, I’m sure the boy didn’t come all this way to hear about your digestion problems.”

Hiccup was starting to get a little annoyed at being ignored and he seemed not to be the only one upset by the dilly dallying. He could hear Professor Toothiana mutter “Ugh, men.” under her breath. Professor Mansnoozie even seemed to be falling asleep again. So Hiccup cleared his throat, loudly, and got their attention.

“Uhm, I’d like to do my exam now, please.”

“Ah, yes. Forgive us.” North said, sheepish. “So, we already know your name, if you would, please state your student number and major.”

“2902-VKNG and my major is Dragon Studies. And, uh, I was told to bring my dragon with me, so he’s waiting outside the door.”

“Good, good.” North seemed to be the only one actually pleased about that little fact. “If you bring him in, we can beg —”

But before North could finish, a loud screech and a yell came from outside, followed by the sound of a plasma blast hitting the door. That couldn’t be good. Hiccup hurried to the exit, but before he could get near, it burst open and a handsome young man with white hair ran through. He slammed it closed and threw himself against the door to barricade it.

“North, you wouldn’t believe me if you tried, but there is a giant dragon outside.”The man said. Hiccup quickly approached him.

“What have you done to Toothless!” He demanded, glaring up into his eyes (he was displeased to notice that the man was a full inch taller than him) and the stranger finally focused his attention on Hiccup.

“I don’t know if you noticed, but that thing wasn’t toothless. At all!” A frown played on his features and he spoke to him as if Hiccup wasn’t fully aware of just what danger they were in. If Hiccup was anything like the rest of his family, who all had Viking blood running in their veins, he was sure he would have grabbed the stranger by his shirt and shook the answer out of him. But as fate would have it, he was a lot more calm and collected. Pissed off, yes, but still wise enough to know that attacking someone taller than you can have disastrous consequences. Instead, he settled for glaring some more and pursing his lips together in what was totally not a pout.

“Toothless is a he, and he’s my dragon. Now what have you done with him.” The scratching from outside the door at least alerted him that Toothless was okay, if not a bit annoyed. But the lack of fire and roars were still enough to put Hiccup on high alert. “Step aside.”

“Huh, what? No!” The person in his way continued to be annoying by blocking Hiccup’s every move with his own body. “I know you students think you’re so tough and able to take on the world, but believe me, you don’t know what you’re walking into.”

“Jack.” Professor Toothiana finally decided to interrupt. “This is Hiccup Haddock. Our examinee. You know, the one doing Dragon Studies.”

Realization dawned on his stupid face. “I thought that was mostly a theoretical practice.” He scratched his neck for extra measure and stepped aside. And while Professor Bunnymund reprimanded the man —Jack, his mind supplied —for being late, Hiccup snuck past and opened the door to find Toothless angrily trying to scratch the ice, presumably frozen by Jack, from his face. That would explain the lack of plasma blast and furious roars.

“Come here, bud.” He said softly, and performed a simple Fire spell to melt away the ice. After a few scratches, because Toothless simply refused to be in the same room as Jack without a bit of pampering, he finally managed to get the dragon in the exam room with him.

Then it began. He was first asked to answer a few elementary questions regarding the sources of magic, types, uses and basic elements required to perform typical rituals. After that he had to perform a few spells himself, all very standard.

The main difference between a normal education and a magical education is that there are no proper schools for magic. Why is that? Well, magic is different for every individual and thus cannot be taught the same to everyone else. Every family writes their own Grimoire, or Book of Shadows, and passes that down from generation to generation. There is, of course, a standard spell book with the basics every Witch is supposed to know, and the questions in the first part of the exam test you on your knowledge of these. The second part of the exam is different. You’re only allowed access to a unique Grimoire if you pass this exam, and earn the right to call yourself a Witch. Since each and every Grimoire is different, the exam is tailored to fully test the required proficiency to handle potential dangerous customized spells.

Now it was Hiccup’s turn to prove he could manage the spells and rituals from his mother’s Grimoire, the only thing Valka had left to her son after her disappearance.

He took a deep breath and prepared himself for whatever was to come.

“And now, the real exam!” North looked absolutely giddy with excitement. “We have decided to change your dragon into . . . a cat. Good, Ja?!”

Hiccup didn’t quite agree. “I-I’m not quite sure if I would call that good.”

“Look, it’s simple. We use a Transformation spell on your dragon to change him into a cat, and it is up to you to figure out the right counter spell and change him back.” Professor Bunnymund explained.

If Hiccup hadn’t been so biased, he could’ve reasoned that it was a good exam. Transformation spells and rituals require not only a great amount of control, particularly with life subjects, but they also demand that the user has a complete understanding of the original state and what it is going to be changed into. It would definitely test Hiccup’s skills and dragon knowledge, as well as his bond with Toothless. Still, as he looked at his dragon, Toothless didn’t seem to like the idea of losing his wings to become a tiny furry creature.

The exam committee noticed his hesitation. Even Jack, who had seemed quite bored before, now glanced up with a strange look in his eyes.

“Of course, you could also choose to not take our offer.” Professor Black said, an aloofness creeping into his voice the longer he talked. “You wouldn’t be the first one to not measure up to our standards.”

“Hiccup, we wouldn’t have picked this if we didn’t believe you could do it.” Professor Toothiana said softly.

Hiccup bit his lip in doubt. Could he really subject Toothless to this if it meant he would pass? And there was of course the issue of what would happen to Toothless if Hiccup accepted and found that he really could not change him back? He wasn’t sure if the people in front of him were as willing to perform the counter spell as they were to place this one. He was about to decline when he felt Toothless nuzzle his stomach, cooing softly to remind Hiccup that he trusted him completely.

“You sure, bud?” Hiccup scratched Toothless in his favorite spot. Toothless once again butted into Hiccup, and Hiccup made his decision.

“We accept your challenge.” Hiccup replied formally, drawing himself up.

North clapped his hands in delight and the group stood up. They took the required things for the Transformation ritual as Professor Mansnoozie drew a golden circle around Toothless. Hiccup watched like a hawk, afraid that they would hurt Toothless as well as taking notes of the workings of the spell. When they were almost done, Jack took his hand and pulled him behind the table. The five people stood equidistant from each other around the circle and started chanting. Sage was burned and marks were drawn in the air, appearing in different shades of purple and blue. The circle started to glow and Hiccup locked eyes with Toothless. A squeeze in his hand reminded him he hadn’t let go of Jack.

“Don’t worry.” Jack reassured him. “They’re a bit eccentric, but they know what they’re doing.”

It glowed so brightly now that even Toothless’s shape was lost in the light. A worried coo transformed into a questioning meow and then the chanting stopped. Hiccup released the tight hold he’d had on Jack’s hand and sprinted to Toothless. When the light cleared, the dragon was gone and in its place there was a tiny black cat.

“Toothless?” Hiccup bend down to get a better look, but when the creature looked up at him with the same yellow-green eyes, Hiccup knew that this was his dragon. He took him into his arms, marveling at how small he actually was now, and hugged him tight. “Oh, Toothless. I promise I will fix this. I will change you back.” He vowed. 

 

* * *

 

Going home Hiccup was in a totally different mood than when he had left his front door that morning. The exam took place at the Facility for Magical Learning, located in a flying city called the Emerald above the Atlantic, that hosted the magical community, and since Hiccup and Toothless had flown there, which was no longer possible, they were both stuck taking the only bus back to Berk. With the small allowance he had been given, he had been forced to buy a cat transport box and cat food; he had no idea how long Toothless would remain a feline.

To say Toothless was displeased at his current state would be an understatement. He absolutely hated small spaces and the transport box he had been forced into during the long bus ride had made him hissy. Even Hiccup’s soothing hadn’t managed to calm him down. He clearly missed his wings and size, and the freedom and respect that came with that.

Arriving at home hadn’t been much better. He’d seen his father’s car parked on the drive way and immediately known he was in trouble. You see, Hiccup might not have mentioned going to take his magical exam, much less that he studied magic at all.

Stoick did not like magic. It had been different years ago, when he didn’t have much of an opinion about it other than the fact that he couldn’t preform even the simplest of spells or that it also was quite useful in some situation. That all changed when Valka had been sent on that mission seven years ago and never came back; not even a body was found. And that was the end of his magic tolerance, as far as Stoick was concerned. Even convincing his father to let him keep Toothless had been a challenge. Rationally, Hiccup knew that Stoick had forbidden Hiccup from studying magic because he dreaded his son following the same path as his wife, but even that could not stop Hiccup from wanting to know more about dragons. And for that he would need his mother’s Grimoire, which contained everything Valka had discovered on her many expeditions.

“We’re almost there, Toothless.” Hiccup said to the once dragon. “I promise, as soon as we reach my room you can get out.”

He softly closed the door, hoping to sneak past the living room where his father would be, but Stoick caught him all the same.

“Where have you been?!” He demanded from the door opening. “No one around town has seen you all day.”

“Away. Just a short trip.” Hiccup tried, but he knew that Stoick would discover the truth sooner or later, especially with Toothless like this. He tried to hide the box and cat food behind his body, which was like putting an apple behind a toothpick and hoping nobody would notice.

“What’s that? Oh, no, Hiccup! I have a one pet limit and Toothless is more than enough. Speaking of which, where is Toothless?”

“Dad, this is Toothless.” There was no way he could lie about this. His father just looked perplexed.

“Son, last time I checked, Toothless had scales not fur, and he was a lot bigger.” Toothless let out a mighty hiss. “Okay, so it is Toothless.” Stoick said half amused at the creature’s misfortune. Then realization dawned on his face. “Hiccup —”

“I know what you’re going to say, and I’m sorry for lying —”

“You were going behind my back —”

“And I was going behind your back, which I’m sorry for, too —”

“To do this! How many times do I have to tell you —”

“But I have to do this —”

“Magic is dangerous and unpredictable. You could very well get hurt!”

“That didn’t stop mom!”

“Hiccup . . .” Stoick’s voice crept into the familiar sadness whenever she was mentioned.

“I can’t let her lifework go to waste.” He sighed and knew this was the time to own up. “Who knows what they’ll do to her Grimoire if I get refused. They’ll probably sell it to someone who will twist and turn her every word. I can’t let that happen.”

His father released a deep sigh. “Alright.” He eventually said, reluctant. “If you feel like you should do this, I can’t stop you. Might as well release the new fur ball from his prison.”

“You’re enjoying his bad luck, aren’t you?” Hiccup chuckled as he opened Toothless’s cage.

“That obvious?” Stoick bend down to pet Toothless. “He’s a lot cuter like this, I’d say. Couldn’t you —ah-choo —make him —ah-CHOO —stay like this —AH-CHOO!!!” Hiccup could have sworn he felt the house shake at the last sneeze.

“Dad, are you okay?”

“Yes! I —AH-CHOO —’m fine.”

“Dad, I-I think you might be allergic to cats.”

“Non-sense! AH-CHOO!! Vikings don’t have —AH-CHOO —  allergies.” Saying stuff like that might all be good and well, but that didn’t change the fact that his father’s eyes looked red and itchy, and he still had not stopped sneezing.  Hiccup scooped Toothless up.

“I think I’ll just take Toothless to my room.” And he went up before his father could protest. He could still hear his father sneezing down below.

Well, this was a setback he hadn’t anticipated. Truthfully, none of this was expected. Then again, Hiccup kind of was a pioneer in the field of Dragon Studies, being actually the first to not only own a dragon but befriend them as well. His friendship with the Night Fury proved many a thesis wrong.

He put Toothless down and went to his bookcase to read up on Transformation and Curse Reversions. His father didn’t like reading very much and was thus unaware of all the types of books Hiccup had acquired over the years. Some he had bought, others he had borrowed from the library until Toothless had scorched them around the edges, forcing Hiccup to become their permanent owner. Some were even presents from Astrid and Fishlegs.

He wondered if they would be online. Both of his friend were currently entangled in their own exams. Fishlegs, who usually got severe anxiety, was so stressed at the moment Hiccup figured he would give him some space. And Astrid, she needed a special ingredient for a potion that only grew on some very far remote location and the blonde was currently half way across the world. Absentmindedly, he tugged on the braids in his hair; they had been a parting gift from Astrid.

Toothless trotted over to where Hiccup had been seated and placed himself on his lap, and even though the change in size was still recent, Hiccup’s hand automatically went to scratch behind the feline’s ear.

Hiccup flipped through the pages, already formulating a few different approaches to the problem in his mind.

They would get through this.

 

* * *

 

He had been overconfident. Two weeks had passed now and Hiccup was not even one step closer to finding a solution.

He had tried everything he could think of. He had burned through his whole stash of sage, which had different properties depending on which moon you laid it out to dry, and it would take an entire month before he could replenish his supply. He had gone through every Transformation spell he could find in the books he owned, and when that didn’t work he had browsed through all the books on Magical Transformations of every library in the city, until eventually he tried to combine different spells, with some disastrous results. It had taken all day to turn Toothless’s fur back to black. Finally, he had made a desperate attempt at an online search that had resulted in only finding some New Age spells people still weren’t sure about if they worked or not and the more experimental brands of magic (like what the hell is Rune Hacking), which Hiccup wasn’t trying anytime soon.

His undeniable failure wasn’t, however, the worst. Each night Toothless would sit in front of the window and let out the most heart-breaking mews before pacing restlessly in the moonlight, glaring up to declare the whole situation unfair with just his eyes. The once-dragon pretended to be alright during the day. He had made a game of seeing just what parts of the house he could reach before setting Stoick off in another sneezing frenzy, climbing onto the ledges and into the small spaces his mass hadn’t been able to fit in before. Even dinner was sort of alright as Toothless’s love for all sorts of fish hadn’t changed with his frame. Though after intensely reading a book on cat care Hiccup had limited the consumption to one piece of fish a day and only after the normal cat food had been eaten. Toothless was less than pleased with that.

But when the moon came up Toothless’s demeanor changed and his longing for flight intensified. The sky was calling but the duo found themselves unable to answer. Toothless’frustration had become clear when, after three days of searching non-stop for an answer, Hiccup had found his leather flying jacket torn to shreds. Toothless had apologized for it later that night by over-affectionately nuzzling Hiccup and the two had shared their pain with some cuddling.

Toothless wasn’t, however, the only one who’s mood had decreased. After a week of intense sneezing, itchy eyes and a scratchy, swollen throat Stoick was finally ready to admit that perhaps he was indeed allergic to cats and this new found realization had come with repercussions. The following week Stoick had been relentless in keeping Toothless away at all cost, becoming irritated when he so much as spotted a black hair on the furniture. Even talking to his father had become a mine field as Toothless had been quite liberal with leaving his hairs and scent all over Hiccup’s clothes. And as the days had gone by, Hiccup, and more importantly Stoick, had come to the terrifying realization that if he couldn’t counter the spell Toothless would have to go.

“Hiccup, I’m telling you, that’s all I have on Transformations.” Fishlegs said as Hiccup went through his book collection for the third time.

“What about that one book your mother got you for your birthday?” Hiccup stubbornly asked.

“Meatlug ate it.” His blond friend was reluctant to admit and he quickly added. “But it wasn’t that good anyway. You could just tell the author was just writing this for the sake of making easy money and some of the rituals were just —”

“Fishlegs, focus.”

“Anyway, all the spells weren’t applicable to live targets, so . . .”

“Thanks, Fishlegs . . . and sorry.” Hiccup put the books away again, his fleeting hope gone.

“Oh, don’t be. If it were Meatlug, I would be up in arms as well.” Fishlegs said sympathetic and for a brief moment the two watched as Meatlug would hover in circles with Toothless laying on her back outside in the yard.

“How’s your exam going?” Hiccup asked after an ephemeral silence.

“Oh, it going great!” Fishlegs said perking up, making himself ready to ramble on in excitement. “So I’ve already written down all the different types of rocks she eats as well as the results we get each time she barfs something up. So it shouldn’t be long before I’m able to remake the ancient metal they used to build Old Smaragdus. I’m thinking about renaming it Gronckle Iron.”

“Wow, that’s great, Fishlegs! It must be so amazing to rediscover something lost for centuries.”

“Well, yes. And it will totally prove my thesis that people worked with dragons before.”

“Which will help to get dragons accepted again as being part of everyday life.”

“Exactly!” A silence fell over them again. Fishlegs, who was actually quite observant, noticed Hiccup staring at Toothless again and said. “You know it just doesn’t add up.”

“What doesn’t add up?”

“How your exam is so much more difficult than ours.”

“I wouldn’t call yours exactly easy, nor that of Astrid.”

“Yes, but we were able to find our solution relatively simple. They had made not-so-subtle hints about an old passage that describes gronckles being able to spit material that could hold magic really well, making a leap from there to the metal castings on Old Smaragdus wasn’t that difficult. And Astrid had basically been given the antidote recipe for Deadly Nadder poison. It’s just strange. Life Transformations are incredibly difficult, yes, but they are also well known. Something should have come up by now.”

“Well, dragons have always been different from other animals. Magic affects them differently. If I could just figure out what spell they used, but it was too bright and their chanting echoed off the walls.”

“Maybe you just don’t have the magical capacity?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you did say it took all five of them to do the spell . . .”

“I thought that was just to gain extra control in case something went wrong. If it really takes five people . . .” He trailed off dejectedly.

“What? Afraid you would actually have to socialize?”

“I have more than five friends! I have Toothless, you, Astrid, and I’m on a friendly basis with Snotlout and the twins . . . well, kind of.”

“But I’m guessing you don’t want Snotlout or the twins anywhere near a spell.”

“Ooh no.” Hiccup dragged the words out, too afraid to imagine the consequences that team up would produce.

“Maybe they’re just being harder on you because you’re kind of our leader.” Fishlegs voiced his sudden thought.

“Leader? Me?! Of what? A dragon rider gang?” It sounded ridiculous even thinking of it.

“Well, you were the first of us with a dragon.” Fishlegs said as if that was a concluding argument. “And you’re being all in their faces with dragon rights. Not that that is a bad thing, but you love making speeches about why dragons make great and loyal friends.”

“Well, they are great!”

“I know, but it’s going to take a while before the rest of the world can accept that. And since you’re kind of the front person of this ‘scary’change, they’re going to pick on you.”

“Well, I think it’s time to go. I still have to go to the checkup today.” Fishlegs saw him to the door and after getting Toothless back into the transportation box, Hiccup took the next bus to the Facility of Magical Learning.

The ride was better than last time. Briefly flying had put Toothless in a good mood and the bus was relatively empty, save for an old lady who was more than willing to share the caramels in her handbag. The bus would travel by land until it reached the coast line, from there a portal would open that would take them just a few kilometers off the Emerald.

The Emerald was a huge flying island that looked like an inverted mountain and had been built during the twelfth century in a collaboration between Europe and the Orient. The wizards of late had searched for a community away from the scorn of the main land and with the might they had possessed they had risen the very land itself from the sea. From the underside, hanging like stalactites, were emeralds that hold the magic responsible for keeping it afloat, thus first gaining the name Smaragdus until English had become a more common language among the learned and it simply changed to the Emerald. The center and oldest part was still called Old Smaragdus to remember its original name.

The buildings had always been the very height of architecture, what with the architects being Witches and all. From the center outwards the different types of styles circled Old Smaragdus like rings in a tree, showing both the growth and the centuries it had been built upon. As it was the only safe haven of their time on this side of the Eurasian continent, Witches from all over had flocked together in this cultural point and that had resulted in a mixture of culture and technology, with architecture that put both Florence and Constantinople to shame. Now the rock had been fully built upon, but they had risen a few smaller islands next to it for expansion, which orbited around the Emerald like the moon does the earth.

The Facility of Magical Learning was located in the center, a little off from the town’s square. It was a tall building with windows every other meter. The colors had faded but in Hiccup’s opinion that just meant it fit better with the teal tiles on top. A few domes decorated the top of the hexagonal rooms used for circular rituals. If Hiccup had to describe it with just a few words he would say it looked like Oxford University, but smaller and without those silly spikes on top.

It had taken a while to cross the town square that was currently being used to host a market. People liked to flock together to trade herbs and gems with magical properties; and if that wasn’t the case they simply liked to discuss mundane things such as a new Weather spell they had read about or that new potion that could remove even the toughest of stains from the cauldron. The rest of the crowd simply walked at that slow agonizing pace that made you want to pull your hairs out or violently push them aside. Toothless seemed to like it just as much as Hiccup did and almost got into a shouting match with an angry Chihuahua before Hiccup quickly pushed through a group of rude elderly Witches.

Finally bypassing the mob, Hiccup ducked into the street where the Facility was located. It was a tiny little alley, a left over from its building time and it was mostly a narrow lane of dark and wet stones and had that smell about it that made Hiccup sure some guy had taken a leak on one of the walls recently. All in all, it was most unfit to host a revered place such as the Facility, but that’s what you get when you want to keep using old buildings in their original surroundings. They had deliberately built it in a small street to prevent students and teachers from forming too big of a drunken crowd together and riot. After all, that’s how new universities are made.

After Hiccup entered the building, he was redirected to a different room than last time. When they had placed the spell on Toothless they had been in a large round room, with a dome on top that, if needed, aligned with the moonlight. Now he was here for just a checkup and that could be held in a small office. After knocking on the door, he entered and was greeted by Professor Toothiana and Professor Black. It seemed that Jack was also present as he saw the white haired male perk up when Hiccup came in and he gave him a small apologetic wave.

“Ah, come in, Hiccup.” Professor Toothiana fluttered forward, now wearing a lilac Sari that went well with her violet eyes. “How have you been doing?”

“Ah, yeah . . .  about that . . .” He set the box down and let Toothless out.

“Still a cat, it would seem.” Professor Black said as he stepped closer to get a better look, but stayed at a short distance when Toothless let out a hiss. Jack snickered in the background while Hiccup calmed the feline down.

“May I?” Toothiana asked, before surrounding her hand in a blue glow and running it over Toothless’back. She prodded and poked him around for a bit, her eyes constantly searching him with a golden gleam, before pulling away. “Well, at least the spell doesn’t seem to do any damage to him. It also appears to be holding up and there have been no changes. Hiccup, can you describe to me exactly what you have been doing?”

Hiccup explained his trails as best as he could, making sure to leave out no detail but before he was done talking he could tell something was amiss. All three faces had turned into thoughtful frowns. And okay, maybe Professor Black had been frowning before, but still, Hiccup wasn’t even sure if the man was capable of showing any other emotion.

“Hmm. That sounds like proper magic.” Professor Toothiana said contemplating. “By all means, the spell should at the very least have signs of coming into contact with your magic and at the very best worked. Maybe I should get . . .” She paused, as if lost in though and staggered for a bit before saying. “Perhaps not. We did make this test a difficult one on purpose. I’ll put it up for discussion with the others if there has been no change on the next checkup. But I’m sure you can figure it out before next time.”

How though? Hiccup felt as if he had literally searched and read everything every written on the subject. Maybe at this point the most logical conclusion would be to assume he really did not have what it takes to be a Witch.

“Hi. Hiccup, right?” A voice snapped him out of his thought. It was Jack, and when had he gotten so close?

“Yes. And you’re Jack?” Jack seemed to beam at the small recognition.

“Yup. I, uh, just wanted to apologize for freezing your dragon last time. Though it seems he’s still mad at me for that.” And indeed Toothless completely ignored Jack in favor of twirling between Hiccup legs, getting him to walk backwards to avoid falling.

“Yeah, he’s very good at holding grudges.” Hiccup said before picking Toothless up. “He also appreciates a well-meant apology.”

“I’m sorry for freezing you, Toothless.” Toothless looked Jack over before meowing in agreement. Jack seemed forgiven. “Um, would you like me to walk you out? I swear, this place seems like a maze sometimes.” Jack said with a bright smile, running his hand through his hair.

“Uhm, sure.”Hiccup found himself agreeing.

“Oh, you’re going out too, Overland?” Professor Black sneered. “Not like you’re around much to start with. Grab me a coffee on the way back and see if I give you a good remark if you add sugar to it.” And with that the man walked into a side room.

“So, does he always sound like a Terrible Terror shit on his sandwich or is it just because I’m here?” Hiccup asked the moment they were out of earshot.

“Haha, no. That’s his usual state. Don’t tell him, but I have actually been spitting into his coffee the last three times.” Jack added with a mischievous grin that somehow suited his handsome face really well.

“Oh, so you’re that kind of person?”

“If you mean totally awesome and unwilling to put up with abuse, then yes.” The grin he flashed showed off his teeth. They were as white as his hair.

“Um, where are you going?” Hiccup asked as Jack followed him outside, stopping briefly to put Toothless back into the box. “I thought you were just getting coffee.”

“I didn’t say when though. I’m bad at sticking to deadlines, got to have a flaw somehow. Besides it’s lunch time, nobody notices if you sneak off for a bit.” He said simply before adding in a voice so soft Hiccup almost didn’t catch it. “At least no-one seems to notice me.” He perked up again after that and Hiccup made a small note to investigate Jack’s words later. “But don’t worry, I’ll be sure to grab some coffee for mister High and Mighty on the way back.”

“So where are you actually going?” Hiccup asked as they reached the market. Great, it had gotten even more busier now that the working Witches were also out and about, looking for some typical street food.

“Oh, just there and nowhere.” He said, even though he seemed to be walking in a direction familiar to him. He guided Hiccup past the stalls, bypassing most people and sometimes stopping to point something interesting out to Hiccup. After browsing a bit, they finally stopped at a stand where an old lady sold used books.

“What are these? I’ve never seen these before, they must be out of print.” Hiccup said as he flipped through a heavy book with a leather cover.

“Oh, these are my late wife’s.” The old woman answered. “She passed away a few years ago, leaving me behind with all of this. I can’t use it, you see. I cannot use magic.”

“Wow, look at this one. The writer is giving actual advice on how to deal with vampires, but they haven’t been around for centuries.” Jack said, fascinated. “And ooh, hello, what’s this? A Flight spell?”

“Oh, that can’t be a good look.” Hiccup remarked.

“Oh hush you. As if I would ever use this for impure intentions.”Jack faked offense, his real thoughts shimmering through the grin he could barely hide. Hiccup couldn’t help but laugh at his amusement.

“Yes, because pranks and the likes are clearly beneath you.”

“They’ll be beneath me when I’m flying above them.” Jack appeared to be quite proud of that comeback, and the face he made amused Hiccup to no end.

“Well, I hope your Highness will find it in him himself to remember little ol’me when he drifting up high away from us mere mortals.”

“Of course not, Hiccie —" (“Oh, there is no way you’re calling me that.”) “—We just have to turn Toothless back and then you’ll fly together with me.” Jack looked so sure Hiccup could do it that Hiccup was almost willing to believe him. With a newfound resolve he turned to the woman.

“Do you perhaps have anything on Transformations, or Dragon spells. Maybe some Cleansing spells or Curse-breaking rituals.”

“Oh, there could be. Fatima was interested in all sorts of different fields.” The old woman though out loud as she grabbed her inventory. “Let’s see. I have a book on Transformations, but it is a first print and many spells in there have proven to be inefficient or have been updated. No such luck for Dragon spells though. Most Witches steered clear from that during our time. And as for Cleansing . . .  Hmm, I seem to have a book somewhere that has some old rituals, but some critics claim the spells are just myths.”

“There is truth is every myth, though.” Jack reasoned.

“Can we see it anyway, please, as well as the book on Transformations.” Hiccup asked. It took a while until they had located all the books. The one written on Transformation was still in an excellent condition for a first print, even though the pages had yellowed quite a bit. He had recognized the author, a Jewish woman of the previous century, and people had been building on top of her work for years. The other book was different. It still had a wooden cover and instead of paper, parchment was used. It must once have been very expensive, but had now proven to be useless. Here Hiccup found himself unfamiliar with the writer, but from the way he talked about his work, he seemed to at least know what he was doing. This could be it.

“I’ll take them. How much do you ask?”

The woman considered this for a moment.

“The books are old and most Witches don’t use them anymore and then there are those possession laws . . .” She trailed off.

“Don’t worry. I’m a Witch.” Jack said, proudly taking his amulet out, a small pendant with a gem that can hold a small spell. They are given away during a graduation to mark the person a qualified Witch.

“Well, that clears up that. Hmm, how about you perform a Restoration spell? Some of the only photographs I had of my wife had gotten damaged while I had that leakage in my roof. Fix them and the books are yours.” The old lady grabbed some photos of a lovely looking woman with a round face and hazel eyes. It took a while to get through every picture and both of the boys wouldn’t settle for anything other than a perfect result, but eventually they had managed to do as the woman had asked and they were three books richer. Well, Jack was three books richer, but he had assured Hiccup with a wink that he wouldn’t mind letting him have a look at them. To thank him for that Hiccup bought them slushies.

“So you think the answer to your troubles is in there?” Jack ask, taking a sip from his drink before laughing as he noticed his tongue turning blue.

“Well, it could be. At this point I’m willing to try everything.”

“Not everything I hope. Some brands of magic are best left unpracticed.”

“I’m not an idiot.” Hiccup snapped. Even he was not insane enough to try something like Blood magic or Necromancy. Those spells went wrong more often than not and he would not subject Toothless to them.

“Calm down. I didn’t mean it like that.” Jack held up his hands.

“I’m sorry. It’s just . . . I feel like I can’t do anything right. Everyone keeps saying I should have fixed this by now and it turns out I can’t. And on top of that I might end up losing Toothless for good.”

“Wow, hey.” Jack hesitated a bit before placing his hand on top of Hiccup’s. “What makes you say that?”

“Because life loves to flip me off. Turns out my dad is allergic to cats and I’m only seventeen, so I can’t live on my own yet.” He didn’t know why he was telling this all to Jack. Something about the way he looked at him just made Hiccup want to confide in him.

“Come live with me.” Jack said, even surprising himself with what he was saying. “Uh, that is . . . Well, I live on my own and no one would bother you. Except for me that is. But I can help you, too. You can even look at the books any time you want!”

“I-I . . . I don’t know. You seem like a nice and good person, but I barely know you . . . It would solve most of my problems, though . . .”

“Here.” Jack wrote down a number on one of the napkins and handed it to Hiccup. “Just think about it.” He stood up and grabbed the bag with books. “I actually have to go now. I have an appointment I really can’t miss.”

“I thought you didn’t do deadlines.” Hiccup said amused. It left him curious though, It didn’t sound like Jack was making himself ready to head back to the Facility.

“This is the one deadline I wouldn’t miss for the world.” Jack said with a wink and a smile before running off.

 

* * *

 

 That evening Hiccup started Skype and called Astrid. It would be late night or early morning where she was but she had been up most nights anyway because some of the flowers needed to be harvested in the moonlight. He just hoped she was in a good mood.

He started the call but when it was accepted it was not the familiar blonde he saw. It was a different girl, with black hair.

“Hi, Heather. Is Astrid awake?” He asked, then he took a closer look and said. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just tired. We have been searching for these flowers for days and since we can only climb this part of the mountain during the day, it's really messed up our sleeping schedule.” She said, unable to suppress a yawn. “Still, it’ll be so worth it to see Astrid’s face light up when we find it.” She said fondly, with a hint of sadness, and Hiccup had a hunch about what was causing it.

“You haven’t told her yet?” He asked, but the other girl averted her eyes from the webcam. She tried to hide her pain away; and even though Heather was an excellent liar, it was getting more obvious each time he spoke to the girl. Her crush on Astrid, that is. He just wondered how long she would last until this broke her.

“She . . . would only get mad.” She said softly.

“Well, you won’t know for sure until you ask.”

“That’s nice, Hiccup. I’ll go get Astrid for you now.” Heather was clearly done with this conversation and at the moment he would have to respect that. If only she knew . . .

The webcam shook for a bit as the image adjusted and Astrid appeared on the screen. The first thing he noticed were the bags under her eyes. She mustn’t have had much sleep lately.

“Good evening, Oh Great and Fearsome Dragon Rider.” He greeted, adding the last part to hopefully keep the mood light.

“Sup, Hiccup? It’s more like late night here though.” She said with a small smile. “Ugh, I’ll be so glad when this thing is done and I finally get to sleep in my own bed again.”

“Aw, and here I thought you liked dangerous hikes far away from civilization.”

“In the Northern Hemisphere yeah. Here the stars are all different and when it isn’t stone cold, it’s so hot I feel like I’m going to die from heatstroke. Not to mention all these bugs. I have never been bitten by so many mosquitoes before. It’s a good thing Heather brought those immunity potions.” She scratched a spot on her arm to emphasize her point. They did indeed appear quite red. Luckily most immunity potions removed the harmful effects but they never quite dulled the itching that went alongside it.

“See, I told you having Heather with you would be a good idea. And here you were, saying she would only get in the way.”

“She’s . . . been helpful . . . I know she’s been trying really hard this whole trip. It’s just . . . I don’t know if I can ever trust her completely again after she lied to me.”

“You’re at least going to have to while you’re still there. She’s trying really hard to make it up to you.”

“I know . . . She’s just so hard to figure out. When you lied about Toothless, I could at least understand why you did it. But with her, I have no idea where she’s coming from or what her motives are.” She groaned in frustration. “I just can’t get a good read on her.”

“Then talk to her. Get to know her. Who knows, maybe something good will happen.” Astrid looked away for a bit, presumably to where Heather was, and a light blush appeared on her cheeks.

“I want to trust her. I want us to go back to how we were before she hurt me.”

“It will work out. Trust me.” Hiccup said with a confident smile and part of Astrid lightened up at the sight of it.

“So how have you been doing?” Astrid asked.

“Oh, I just . . . — Get here for a moment, bud. Come say hi to Astrid. —Things have pretty much stayed the same, really.” He said as he picked Toothless up and put him in his lap before scratching his ear. Toothless let out a lazy meow to greet Astrid who greeted him back.

“So nothing changed? None of your research has helped” She asked concerned.

“Apparently. At least nothing worse has happened to Toothless, so that’s something.”

“And your father?”

“He’s . . . finally ready to admit that he’s allergic. But you know what that means . . .” He left the possibility that Toothless might have to go unspoken. Saying it would only make it more real.

“Hiccup, what are you going to do?”

“I don’t know.” And then he thought about the offer Jack had made. “Well, there is this one specific thing . . .”

“What is it?” She asked, knowing Hiccup wouldn’t follow up on it otherwise. There were moments Hiccup wished Astrid didn’t know him so well.

“You remember that I told you about the guy with the white hair, the intern for the committee . . .”

“You mean the one who froze Toothless? Jack or something, right? ” She asked, before jumping to conclusions and getting overprotective. “He isn’t giving you trouble, is he?”

“What? No! He’s . . . actually offered his help.” Astrid remained quiet, as if she didn’t know what to make of it and was waiting for Hiccup to give her more information. He complied. “After he apologized, we hung out together and traded some interesting books at the market. I couldn’t have them myself, but he offered to let me look at them whenever I want.”And he offered that one other thing. He just wasn’t sure if he should tell Astrid. Then again, maybe Astrid could help him make up his mind. “He also offered to let me live with him for the rest of my exam.”

As expected, she remained quiet for quite a long time, pondering over what to say.

“And? Are you going to do it?” She finally asked. Her question did surprise him however.

“What? I —” He released a deep sigh. “I don’t know . . .”

“But you are thinking about it.” She concluded correctly.

“. . . Yes.”

“Then do it.”

“Huh?”

“Those books might have an answer and maybe, if that isn’t the case, you can force Jack to give something away. And . . . Oh, and Stoick won’t be around Toothless so that’s also solved for the moment.”

“You know, usually you try to talk me out of doing stupid stuff.”

“Usually, you don’t even tell me about it and end up doing it anyway.”

“True.”

“Hiccup, this might actually be good for you. You have been worried sick about Toothless the whole time. Maybe that’s why it isn’t working. Emotions can affect our magic, remember.” She shifted behind the webcam for a bit to get comfortable. “Maybe a new opportunity will relax you and now you also won’t have to worry about losing Toothless because of Stoick’s allergies.”

And that was all he needed to make up his mind. And who knows, Astrid might turn out to be right. She usually was.

“If he kills me in my sleep, I’m coming back to haunt you.” He told her promptly.

“If he kills you, I’ll immediately fly back to kill him myself.”

 

* * *

 

 It had taken Hiccup, Gobber and a meeting with Jack to convince Stoick of the move, but after some compelling arguments, mostly from Gobber, it was finally happening. Hiccup had packed the basics and the rest would remain at his home for when he moved back. And in Hiccup’s absence, Stoick could let the house be cleaned of Toothless’s fur.

Jack lived in one of the poorer districts on the main rock of the Emerald. Most of the building were either sinking or falling apart, some a bit of both, and the only thing that left them standing were probably the magic spells fused into the bricks. The houses were small and narrow, going more upward that anything else, probably due to the housing taxes instated when people still wanted to live here and the price per meter was expensive. Now it was mostly inhibited by either people in their twenties or families who had come from far away to seek a better life here. It actually was a good neighborhood, although the old houses did look a bit spooky at night, but most people were good and nice folk; there even was a bit of space reserved for trees, grass and a playground. Hiccup felt a sense of maturity wash over him at the prospect of living here for the coming weeks.

The street Jack lived on could barely fit the car that held Hiccup’s stuff and they had to stop a few meters from the door because of a poorly parked scooter. Getting out of the car Jack grabbed a bag without looking and rushed to the front door to open it up for Hiccup. They entered into a tiny hall that held the washer and dryer and at the end of it was the back door, leading to a few squares of garden.

Hiccup was lucky he didn’t have to bring any large furniture, such as a bed or a couch, as Jack lived on the fourth floor, sharing the house with 5 other people, and the tiny winding staircase was already steep and narrow to begin with. It held access to six floors total, where every floor consisted of a single living unit. It was as if someone had taken a house and changed it into a mini flat, emphasis on the mini.

Jack’s apartment was proof of that. It contained a small kitchen that shared the same room as the living space, a tiny bathroom in which you had to be careful not to hit the toilet when stepping out of the shower, and a bedroom that fit a queen-sized bed plus a bit of walking space. This left one problem though. Where was Hiccup going to sleep?

The question was put off as they needed to unload the car before it started to rain, and by the look of the clouds they wouldn’t have long. (You would think a magical floating city would be able to monitor the weather, but apparently it was bad for the environment to affect such a large area.) Quickly, they hurried up the stairs multiple times, until all Hiccup’s stuff was dumped in the living room. Toothless was let out and went off to explore his new surroundings and Stoick hastily bid farewell from the doorway. Hiccup could have sworn he saw his father tear up a bit, but the man quickly brushed it away and gave Hiccup a pat on the back before walking back to the car. And for the first time since the checkup Hiccup was alone with Jack.

“Man, It’s already late. How about we make the bed and just order in and leave the rest for tomorrow?” Jack suggested.

“Yeah, sure.” Hiccup said, still wondering where he was going to sleep.

Turns out the couch could be transformed into a bed. Somehow, it was not what Hiccup had in mind, but he supposed it would do. Jack grabbed some sheets from the closet, very pink sheets, and made the bed while Hiccup ordered some pizza. Within ten minutes the pizzas were delivered through the small warp pad near the door. Jack had no table, nor the space for it, so they sat down on the couch-turned-bed and started to eat.

“Uhm, nice apartment.” Hiccup tried to sound casual, but he had never been good at small talk.

“If you prefer to live in a box.” Jack took a big bite of his pizza, before cursing when it turned out to be too hot. He let out a breath and Hiccup could feel the chill from where he sat. Apparently the Frost spell he had used on Toothless wasn’t the only Ice magic he knew. “Still the only thing in my price range though. So I guess home sweet home.

“I really can’t believe they let more than one person live here though. It already feels small with the two of us and I don’t take up a lot of space.” Jack’s face froze.

“That’s because they technically don’t allow more than one person to live here.” He confessed.

“What!”

“But don’t worry. The landlord is never over and they don’t bother checking.” Jack quickly said, before adding. “I’m actually also not sure cats are allowed . . .”

“Oh, well that’s just great. Perfect, really.”

“Oh, chill. No one is going to find out. Trust me.” Hiccup was getting less and less sure about that. Was it too late to bail? Probably.

Toothless came over, drawn by the smell of delicious pizza and Hiccup barely got it out of reach before the creature took a bite.

“No, Toothless. Pizza is not good for you. Hang on.” He said, getting up and unpacking the bowl from a bag. After filling the bowl with cat food he returned to the bed and began to finish his pizza.

“So what did you graduate in?” Hiccup asked.

“The amazing art of Snowology.” Jack answered.

“So challenging you to a snowball fight isn’t really a bright idea, I take it?”

“Not if you want to win.” Jack grinned. “Then again I make a mean snowball even without any spells.”

“And I take it that was a simple Ice spell when you burned your mouth on that pizza?”

“You noticed that, huh?” He said, before blowing another cold breath. This time small figures of ice appeared from the gust. They were tiny Night Furies, Hiccup realized, and they danced in the air for a bit before Jack ran out of breath and dispelled them.

“Wow. That’s amazing!” Hiccup breathed in awe and Jack smiled brightly.

“Probably not as amazing as Dragon Studies. I can’t imagine what it is like to have your own dragon.”

“It’s a new challenge every day.” Hiccup said fondly. Toothless was done eating and trod over to Hiccup before laying down in his lap. Hiccup scratched Toothless’s ear, causing the feline to purr. If Hiccup was honest that was one change he did enjoy. “He can be a real trouble maker sometimes, but nothing beats the bond that forms between a rider and their dragon. When we’re up in the sky, I feel like nothing can defeat us. We can go where no one goes, without ever having to slow down, for anyone.”

“That must be the life.” Jack said, lounging down. He went to pet Toothless too, but the cat looked up with stern eyes, daring him to get that hand any closer. Jack hesitated before flicking a piece of ham, which Toothless caught with expertise.

“Heh, that’s bad for cats.” Hiccup berated.

“One tiny piece isn’t going to do anything.” Jack tried again and this time Toothless let him pet him. “I guess he’s kind of cute.” Toothless really got into the petting and lay on his back, presenting his belly. Jack, the lovable idiot who probably only has been around dogs, saw that as an invitation. He reached down, and Hiccup caught the quick mischievous glint in Toothless’s eyes, before his claws snapped shut and Jack let out a howl of pain.

“Oh, sorry. Guess he doesn’t like being called cute.” Hiccup said, trying to work the claws from Jack’s wrist. Toothless looked at him with a look that said, _Damn right. I_ _’_ _m the unholy offspring of lightning and death. You better fear me._ That didn’t deter Hiccup. “Toothless, let Jack go.” He said in a warning tone. Toothless obeyed, after a few seconds.

Jack had scratches down his arm. They didn’t look deep, but they did look painful. Jack just shrugged it off and with a pink glow the cuts healed themselves.

“You know Healing spells?” Hiccup asked, amazed.

“Just small things. Cuts, bruises, abrasions. Ice can be sharp and I rough house a lot.” Jack explained and Hiccup was once again reminded that there was a lot he didn’t know about Jack yet. Though Hiccup figured that someone who knew basic healing couldn’t be bad. “Just give me the empty box. I’ll clean up.”

Hiccup hummed in agreement, while Jack collected the trash. It was already late and Hiccup rummaged through his bags to find his toothbrush and paste. The bathroom had no sink so Hiccup would have to use the one in the kitchen. He waited for Jack to finish washing the glasses they had used. After brushing his teeth, Hiccup set up Toothless’s bed and litterbox. He grabbed the oversized shirt he usually slept in.

“Can I change in your room?” Hiccup asked. He didn’t quite feel comfortable changing in front of Jack yet.

“Huh? Oh, yeah. Sure.” Jack said offhandedly, now using the sink to brush his own teeth.

Hiccup took off his skinny jeans and pullover before putting the large shirt on. Taking off his socks, he didn’t spot a laundry basket anywhere. He would have to ask Jack.

“Hey, Jack. Do you have anywhere to put my clo . . .” Hiccup trailed off as he took in the sight of Jack. Or more likely, the sight of Jack wearing glasses. “You wear glasses?”

Jack blushed a bit. “Yeah, Ice magic is very reflective and can have a bad effect on your eyes, so I usually wear blue contacts. Helps reduce the damage.” It was then that Hiccup noticed that his eyes were actually brown, a warm, inviting chestnut brown that reminded hiccup of bundling himself all up in furs during a cold winter night. “Same as the bandages on my hands, really. What kind of Ice Mage would I be if I gave myself frostbite.”

“A terrible one.” Hiccup managed to say, still finding himself distracted by his newest discovery. The glasses made Jack look cute and it was already no lie that Jack was handsome. “They suit you, surprisingly enough.”

“You really think so?” Jack’s blush returned.

“Yeah.” Hiccup replied honestly.

“Not a lot of people know I wear them.” Jack said and it was clear he felt a bit insecure about them. There was a tension in the air Hiccup wasn’t familiar with and it left him unsure of what to do, so he fell back on an old habit. Sass.

“Maybe that’s for the better. They make you look a bit more serious than you are. Wouldn’t want to trick people into thinking you’re an innocent, proper gentlemen, now would we?” Hiccup hoped he hadn’t fucked it up. He knew his mouth sometimes spewed shit better left unsaid, but Jack seemed glad for the way out.

“But why, my dear Hiccup, I have already tricked you, haven’t I? And I didn’t even need my glasses for that.” Jack regained his smile as he fell back into his playful character. “Still want to sleep here tonight?”

“I’m really too tired to care right now.” Hiccup said. Jack let out a yawn, causing his glasses to lift up a little.

“Well, time for bed.” He said. “I don’t get this beautiful just by being me, you know.”

“Then you might want to get a head start.” Hiccup said and Jack threw a pillow at him for that.

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Sleep tight, you little shit.” Jack replied before retreating to his room. Hiccup put the pillow down and let his head fall on it. He curled up under the blankets and before he fell asleep he wondered why he had even worried at all.

 

* * *

 

Hiccup was abruptly awoken when Toothless decided that Hiccup’s face made for the best bed.

“Aw, Toothless!” Hiccup exclaimed as he batted the cat away. Toothless only let out a demanding meow. “Yeah, yeah. I get it. You’re hungry. Don’t worry, Your Majesty will soon be fed.”

He stretched himself out and stood up. Half asleep, he went to fill Toothless’s bowl, tripping over most of the bags still in the room. He was snapped out of his daze by the sound of rhythmic thumping.

He tried to ignore the sound and make breakfast, but it didn’t seem like it was stopping anytime soon. Eventually curiosity won and Hiccup went to locate the source. It seemed to be coming from the shared backyard and he went to look. From the window you had a clear view of the garden. And to Hiccup’s surprise it turned out to be Jack, practicing martial arts with a staff. He swung it around with expertise, the motion so fluid it looked like it was floating, going precisely where he wanted it too. His body moved in tandem with the motions, constantly in balance, strong arms grasping the shaft to deliver powerful strokes. Hiccup saw Jack’s muscles shift under his tank top, hardening at will, as drops of sweat ran down his neck. Hiccup let out a small moan at the sight before taking a sip from his coffee and turning away from the window, hurrying to the shower.

Hiccup spend the next two weeks reading the books, a very slow process as some passages were written in either German or French, and it took some time to translate it as accurately as possible. During that time Hiccup also found out a lot more about Jack. Such as that the male enjoyed singing in the shower—luckily he had a great singing voice—or that he used to have piercing in his left eyebrow and tongue. Which had led to Jack explaining his rebel phase, but eventually had to take them out as metal and Frost spells do not mix well. It had left Hiccup wondering how he would look with the piercing in, which had led to Hiccup imagining Jack pierced in some very private places. 

Hiccup had at first though it was just an infatuation, because Jack was incredibly handsome, and most of Hiccup’s infatuations didn’t last very long. There had been his crush on Astrid, which had disappeared once he realized he liked her more as a friend. Things had turned sexual with Camicazi, but she wasn’t big on the whole romantic thing. He even briefly had that childhood crush on his mom’s ex-boyfriend, a heroic man called Hubert, who Hiccup and Astrid had rightly dubbed Humongously Hotshot. He figured it would be the same with Jack. He was wrong.

Everything Jack did ignited a flame in Hiccup, a deep longing he wasn’t even aware he was capable of. From his smile that made the room just a bit brighter, to the small touches when they watched TV together after a long day of reading, scooting closer until Jack’s arm basically rested around Hiccup. And Jack was considerate. Even though it was clear that Jack didn’t actually fancy studying for anything that couldn’t be used as a prank, he still went out of his way to bring Hiccup new material he had found in the Facility, hoping it might help his search. He even taped that documentary about dragons he was sure Hiccup would love, which had led to Hiccup explaining about the fire breathing creature he loved so much and people’s different views on them. Jack had listened to his every word.

There was still a lot he did not know about Jack yet. Such as where his family was or where he disappeared to sometimes. Hiccup knew he was expected at the Facility every other day, but even on his free days he left the house for incredibly long periods of time, coming back with a big grin on his face and his breath running short. Hiccup sincerely hoped he didn’t go out to visit a lover or something. That would be just his luck. But whenever they both went out together, Jack didn’t seem interested in anyone else that way and it made Hiccup wonder if Jack would even see him like that. But for now the only ones who knew Hiccup’s feelings were Toothless and himself.

Hiccup went back to reading the book on Magical Myths they had picked up at the market, shaking himself from another erotic fantasy of Jack. In this one the man had been on his knees, giving Hiccup a blowjob while wearing his glasses. Jack had been slurping enthusiastically, a line of spit and pre running down his chin. Hiccup had let his hands wonder freely through that soft white hair, tugging on Jack’s big, red ears when he had been close, before releasing all over the male face and, additionally, his glasses and . . . Hiccup really needed to get back to his book.

The author was talking about some deity everyone had credited magic to some centuries ago, a god in the moon called Mani. The belief had died down after people had been to the moon themselves and found nothing. Some critics claimed that they simply had not looked enough, whereas others had jumped to a more scientific conclusion about why the moonlight aided magic. They had, however, yet to come up with an explanation. That left two things. Either the moon really was just a moon and reflective sunlight really held the power, or this Mani person was so powerful he could pull off collective memory charms or Invisibility spells. But no matter which side you chose, magic remained the most powerful in the moonlight.

He flipped the page and his breath caught in his throat. It described a Cleansing ritual that could reverse any curse. It was quite complicated and required a precise execution. The ritual would have to be performed in the Temple of Mani during a full moon at exactly midnight. The user would have to place 5 equally long candles equidistantly and each candle would have to represent one element. The text recommended fusing the candles with Agrimony, Myrrh, Rosemary and Loosestrife respectively. The last candle would have to represent the spirit and the one doing the ritual should fuse their magic into the wax while making the candle. Then a circle should be drawn and the spell chanted.

The different steps were illustrated on the next page, where a Witch transformed several creatures, such as cats, mice and birds. They were crudely drawn and the artist must not have seen every animal depicted, Hiccup really felt sorry for the picture that should have been a lion. One caricature even appeared to be a winged lizard. No, wait. It was drawn with something coming out of its mouth. It was a dragon!

“Toothless!” Hiccup exclaimed. “I might have found something!”

 

* * *

 

As Jack was flying, he wondered why this spell hadn’t become popular. Sure, he still needed to work out the kinks, and he did more crashing than flying, but it was absolutely worth it. The absolute weightlessness made him feel like a metaphorical weight was lifted off his shoulders. He floated through the air like a napkin, a free napkin. Away from the sneers and the stares, or worst of all, the effort people took to ignore him completely. Now they had no choice but to submit to their curiosity and look up as he passed them by.

He snickered to himself as he thought about how easy it was to prank them right now. As soon as he caught eye contact with the rude older lady a few block from his house he let himself drop out of the air. She let out a huge shriek, causing Jack to burst out in laughter as he felt the wind catch him again.

He huffed. The spell did drain your energy, he realized. Maybe he should head to the Facility now.

From this distance he saw Bunnymund working behind the window. With a mischievous grin Jack set off to surprise him. He’d meant to float outside the window until the man noticed him, but the spell had a different plan. Instead he lost control and crashed right through the glass.

“Bloody hell, Jack!” Bunny exclaimed, barely able to catch the glass pieces shooting through midair in time. With a wave of his hand the shards flew back to the frame and morphed back to their original form. Jack winced as he felt the tiny shards in his new wounds leave them to rejoin the now fixed glass. That had been a bit painful. “Do you have to show off every day?!”

“Oh, don’t get your tail in a twist, kangaroo.” Jack said as he began to heal the tiny cuts. “Everything turned out fine.”

“Yeah, you sure look fine.” Bunny grumbled. “Go get Sandy to check your cuts, mate.”

“Aw, you do care.” Jack cooed.

“Just get out, you bloody show-pony!” Jack caught him yelling before he left the room.

Sandy had his own office in the highest dome of the building and it wasn’t so much an office as it was a sanctuary for naps. Most of the windows were closed, the shutters only letting in glimmers of light. From the walls hang curtains and fabrics and the carpeted floor was littered with pillows and blankets. Seriously, whenever Jack had a slow day he went up here and Sandy allowed him too snooze a little without any repercussions. Mostly the little guy meditated in here, drawing magic from his surroundings, or he slept while pretending to be meditating. And despite everyone’s high expectations, it was the latter more often than not.

Like right now, Sandy was seated on a big pillow in the middle of the room, his eyes closed. His head hanging to the side was the only indication that he was indeed asleep. Gently, Jack shook him away.

“Hi, Sandy. Bunny said to check my cuts.” Jack rolled up his sleeves and showed him a rather long one he hadn’t been able to fix himself. Sandy shook his fist in frustration, only letting up when Jack promised to be more careful in the future. Jack told the whole story of what had happened and Sandy found equal amusement at pestering Bunnymund.

“I did it again today, Sandy.” Jack said suddenly. “I stared at him again when he was asleep. What’s wrong with me? I’m sure normal roommates are not supposed to enjoy watching the other while he’s snoozing. I can’t help it. Hiccup’s just so cute. Like his face gets all mushy and his hair sticks out from all sides. And when Toothless joins him on the bed he curls up around him. Man, am I in deep, or what?”

Sandy only looked at him in amusement. He patted Jack’s arm to signal he was done patching him up and went back to his earlier position on the pillow.

“I don’t know what to do.” Jack bemoaned. “Like every time I think I’m going to be smooth I completely blow it. Meet an incredibly cute guy, turns out I froze his dragon. See incredibly cute guy has a problem, doesn’t just offer help. Nooo, offers to let him live with me. You know who falls in love with their roommates? No one! That’s who. After all, it’s a bit hard to romanticize someone once you’ve heard them shit and fart and seen them in the morning without their coffee. What was I thinking?”

Sandy had his eyes closed and made no movement. At this point Jack wasn’t even sure if he was awake or not.

“And you know the worst part? With every day that passes, every minute more I spend with him I find myself falling harder and harder. He’s just so great. I just love how he’s a sarcastic little shit. But when it comes to Toothless he tries so hard to make everything right. He studies constantly and when he’s focused his face scrunched up and his tongue points out behind his lips and I can’t help but wonder what it would feel like to kiss him and have that tongue against mine. I want to draw heart patterns of frost on the window for him to see each morning. I want to write him cute post-it notes with funny nicknames that make him smile whenever he reads them. I want to make him breakfast pancakes! In those ridiculous romantic shapes and decorate them with strawberries! And I don’t even know how to cook! There’s a lot of other stuff too, but let’s just say I’ve had to buy two boxes of tissues and a large bottle of lube. Aw man, why does this stuff have to be so complicated?”

A huge explosion took them both by surprise and woke Sandy up. So the fucker was asleep, Jack thought, caustically. 

“Do you know what that was? They didn’t plan any explosive spells today, did they?” Jack asked, but Sandy only shook his head. He was as confused as Jack. So, without much choice, they decided to go to the source of the commotion.

On the second floor a giant hole was created in the wall of one of the large ritual rooms, huge pieces of debris lying around as the dust clouds had yet to settle. Bunny came sprinting around the corner.

“What the bloody hell happened here?!” He asked.

“Don’t know. Wasn’t me.” Jack said. A coughing sound came from under some of the wreckage and Jack hurried over to lift it off. Toothiana lay under it, covered in soot, coughing to get the dust out of her throat. Jack helped her up and Sandy offered her some water he had summoned.

“Cough —Thanks, guys.” She rasped. “Oh, no! Where’s North?!”

“Abramsky! That did not went well.” Was the only warning they got before a huge block flew away, revealing North behind it, casually brushing the dirt of his clothes. “Maybe next time better.”

“What were you guys doing in here?” Jack asked astounded.

“We were testing an examinee.” Came the voice of Pitch Black. The man was surprisingly unscathed. That jerk had probably hid himself behind a Protection spell, leaving the rest to fend for themselves. He looked irritated, though. “And that incompetent fool couldn’t handle his own spell.”

“It was Blood magic.” Toothiana said gravely. “He tried to use Blood magic.” They all shared a look and Jack felt oddly left out.

“Are you sure, Sheila? That’s not something most people try in front of others.”

“Yes, we thought it was just a normal spell, but then he took an already dead dog out of his bag and . . .”

“The idiot thought a mere dog was enough to make a Blood spell work. Evidently, he was wrong.” Pitch sneered.

“What happened to the examinee?” Jack asked.

“See for yourself.” Pitch said, pointing at a body laying a few meters away. When Jack stepped closed he gasped in horror. The flesh was all sunken in and dried up, and jack was barely able to recognize who it was. He knew this guy, a good-willed simpleton who had been easy to trick by Jack, but would always laugh about it with him later.

“As you can see, the Blood spell took the required amount of sacrificial blood itself when it deemed the dog unworthy. It is also why the owner of the blood needs to be alive before a ritual.” Pitch explained with accurateness and then added with a sick ecstasy. “They don’t always have to alive afterwards, though.”

Jack stepped away, unable to stand it any further. But before leaving the room he forced himself to look upon the sunken face one more time and wondered what had made that joyful man so desperate to try something so vile.

 

* * *

 

When he came home Hiccup almost tackled him.

“Are you alright?!” The brunette demanded. “I heard what happened on the news. They said a spell went wrong and there was an explosion. But they didn’t say why or who got hurt. Only that a body bag was needed.”

“I’m fine, Freckles. I’m fine.” Jack reassured him, laughing as Hiccup pulled a face at his new nickname. And he was so going to keep calling him that if that was the reaction he got. “I wasn’t even near the room when it happened.”

“Well, that’s a relief.” Hiccup let out a breath he clearly had been holding for a long time.

“Were you worried about me all day?” Jack asked, suddenly finding the situation a bit more positive than before. Hiccup bit his lip . . . and he needed to stop doing that before Jack leaned down and . . .

“Who else is going to let me live in their house and eat their food?” Hiccup mumbled embarrassed. Jack was getting familiar with Hiccup’s way of coping and that made it all the more endearing.

“I knew you only liked me for my stuff.” Jack lamented melodramatic. “But in all seriousness, I’m okay. Someone did die. He was an examinee.”

“How did it happen?” Hiccup asked.

“He tried Blood magic.” Jack told in all honesty, and Hiccup winced at the implication. “He tried to use the blood of a dead dog and his own ended up getting used.”

“Blood magic is powerful magic and therefore the blood must be of equal value of what is asked.” Hiccup pondered out loud. “The more valuable and rare the blood . . .”

“The less you need.” Jack finished. “That why virgin blood is often used. Are you still a virgin?” He asked, and then he realized just what he had said and quickly, with a blush, added. “I mean ritual virgin, not sexual virgin.”

“Uh, uhm . . . Yeah . . . Haven’t ever really needed to use my blood before.” Hiccup was as red as Jack was and they both were actively avoiding each other’s eyes. It remained silent for a while until Hiccup softly dared to speak again. “And? Are you?”

“Ritually or sexually?” Jack asked, his voice getting lower.

“Ritually.” Hiccup whispered, leaning in. Their eyes meeting.

“Yes.” A hand trailed up his arm, shivers flowing down his spine.

“And?” Hiccup asked with a new found bravery.

“And what?” Was Hiccup asking what he thought he was asking? If so, did that mean Hiccup was into him? Hiccup’s eyes became half lidded and the tip of his tongue swept out to lick his bottom lip.

“And sexually?”

“No.” They were so close he could feel Hiccup’s breath. “You?”

“Me, neither.” They came to a halt a short distance from each other, neither quite knowing if they should be the one to take the plunge and leap in or let the other take the first steps, but before either could do anything about it, they were snapped out of their daze by an angry meow. Toothless was clearly displeased that Jack had stolen the attention of his owner. Great, he was getting cat-blocked.

The moment was gone and they both hurried away from each other, the awkwardness returning tenfold.

“Oh, That’s right. I wanted to show you something.” Hiccup said before grabbing a book that laid open on his bed. “I think I found my solution!”

“Wow, Hic. That’s great!” It was great, even though it meant that Hiccup might move out sooner than expected.

“It tells of a Cleansing ritual that when performed at the Temple of Mani at exactly midnight during a full moon, it can break any curse.”

“Looks complicated.” Jack said, reading the text over. “Let’s do it. We can get the ingredients and make the candles ourselves in this room. The next full moon is still about a week away. We can pull this off.”

The grin on Hiccup’s face made everything worth it.

 

* * *

 

In the past days Jack’s small apartment had turned into a candle chandlery, with cauldrons full of wax laying all over the place. After a few attempts, because Toothless liked to play with the strings and Hiccup wouldn’t settle for anything less than perfect, they finally had made 5 candles of equal sizes.

Jack had asked North, who was a well-traveled explorer and a believer of Mani, about the location of the temple. He had said The Emerald used to have a temple dedicated to Mani, but it had gotten separated after a battle hundreds of years ago. Now it just floated around the Main Rock, like the other satellites. 

On the day of the full moon they were both woken up by an excited Toothless, who was leaping and dashing through the house, ecstatic about the possibility that he might finally be turned back.

After packing all the necessities, the three set off towards the temple. It would take a few hours just to get to the edge of the rock, where from there on they would take a transporter to the satellite containing the temple. They took the metro to the closest station and walked. Hiccup was secretly glad they were walking again. Some people had given Jack strange looks in the subway and it didn’t sit well with him.

Toothless’d had to spend the first part of their journey in his box before he basically had demanded he’d be released and was now riding Hiccup’s shoulder. They stopped at the last supermarket before the edge and grabbed some sodas and some sandwiches. Then they trotted on until they finally ran out of ground to walk.

They had a bit of difficulties locating the transporter as the control stone was covered in ivy and moss. They cleaned it up and the markings on the stone were revealed. They contained runes and lines connecting them, helping the magic flow better through the engravings.

“Man, this thing is old.” Jack said.

“Do you think it’ll still work?” Hiccup asked skeptically.

“Let’s find out.” And Jack placed his hand on the center of the stone and fused his magic into it. The engraving lit up and a purple platform flickered to life. It had trouble holding shape at first but then became stronger until it stopped disappearing. “Your ride awaits.” Jack said, before hopping on. Hiccup was doubtful, though. This thing would have to float them to the satellite and they couldn’t even see it from here. And who knows how long the transporter will last. He still took Jack’s hand and let himself be pulled onto the see-trough floating floor. The platform moved so suddenly Hiccup almost fell off, but was caught by Jack.

“Careful now. That’s a long, _long_ way down.” Jack said.

“Believe me, I know.” Hiccup said back. “You know, when Toothless was a dragon we used to make falls like this. Just stopped flying for a second before catching the wind again. This is . . . not like that.”

The platform traveled up for what felt like forever, until they eventually couldn’t even see The Emerald anymore through the clouds. Finally they spotted a floating rock in the distance. But their fortune was short lived. Without warning, the platform stopped midair.

“Oh, what? Come on!” Jack exclaimed. “We’re almost there!”

“Jack!” Hiccup called out before the platform began to flicker again. Quickly he grabbed hold of Toothless and Jack grabbed hold of him and activated his Flight spell seconds before the platform gave out completely.

“Alright, I’ve got you.” Jack said, flying towards the rock. He wasn’t used to flying with this much weight and sometimes they made heart stopping drops before Jack regained control again. They both took a minute to regain their breath the moment they had landed.

 “I think that’s another control stone.” Jack pointed to an equally neglected pillar. “We can use it to get back.”

“If everything goes right, we won’t have to. We’ll just fly on Toothless.” Hiccup said, checking his bag to see if nothing had fallen out.

“Oh, right. Dragons fly.” Jack said sheepishly. After catching their breath, they took a look around. “Do you see this? No one must have been here for years.”

It did indeed look run down. They had landed on a grass patch, where a few fairy circles had grown and a couple of trees grew here and there. There were also stone stairs. They looked cracked and brittle.

“That must be the way to the temple. Come on, it’ll be dark soon.” Hiccup said, beginning to climb the steps. They climbed on until eventually they reached the temple. It was a huge round stone floor, decorated with constellations and planets in a circular pattern and in the middle of it all was a small round hole filled with water, no wider than a baseball. Around the round floor were eight pillars that carried an open roof gazebo. The pillars and the metal frame curling into each other like ivy. In the middle of the roof was a hole, so nothing could interrupt the water from reflecting the moonlight. Strangely enough, the temple wasn’t covered with plants, as if even nature respected this place and left it untouched.

“Wow, I’ve never seen anything like this.” Jack said in awe. “Makes you wonder why they even abandoned it in the first place.”

“I know right. This place is just so accessible and close-by.” Hiccup retorted.

“Okay, mister sassy-pants. Let’s just get started.”

They aligned the candles exactly as in the pictures and drew a pentagram, connecting the five candles. They walked around in a circle, creating a shield from all negative influences before cleansing the inner circle by weeping the floor.

By the time they were done, it was almost midnight and Hiccup was starting to feel nervous. He looked at Jack and the other male seemed still okay. Hiccup didn’t know if he should’ve confided in Jack. After all, it was Hiccup who wanted to do this ritual and had dragged Jack out on a day long journey. But midnight approached and there was no time for doubt.

“Okay, Toothless. I want you to stand there in the middle, above the water and I want you to remain as still as possible. Can you do that, bud?” Hiccup said, gently petting the cat. Toothless head-butted Hiccup’s hand, letting out a meow to confirm he knew what to do.

“Come on. It’s almost time.” Jack called out as he saw that the two had trouble separating. “Everything is going to be fine.”He reassured them.

“I hope so.” Hiccup and Jack assumed their positions in the circle, getting themselves ready to wield some powerful magic.

Midnight came.

Hiccup lifted up his hands and all five candles caught fire. He took a deep breath before chanting the words from the spell. He had to chant them quite fast as to not lose the position of the moon and at the same time be wary of his pronunciation. One wrong sound and the whole ritual would fail. The flames of the candles rose to great heights and Hiccup and Jack could feel a magic taking hold of the place.

A moonbeam shot towards earth, going through the roof and when it couldn’t land on the water it touched Toothless instead. It set the cat aglow and Hiccup kept chanting. In the light they could see wings forming, growing from Toothless’s back, stretching themselves out as far as they could reach. And then it stopped. The light vanished and Toothless came into vision again. The ritual had ended but it wasn’t a dragon that stood in the circle. Toothless had remained a cat, only now with cat-sized Night Fury wings on his back. Hiccup had failed.

The candles went out with a gust of wind and the circle broke, as Hiccup let his hands fall to his side. Jack didn’t know what to do. Of all the things he had expected he hadn’t imagined the ritual would only work halfway. He looked at Hiccup, worried over how he might have reacted, but the other only stared in shock at Toothless. It wasn’t until Toothless let out a small, questioning meow that the first heartbreaking sob escaped Hiccup’s lips. Jack couldn’t hear this, couldn’t watch how the one he liked looked so shattered and he rushed over to pull Hiccup into his embrace. Weeks of stress and worry escaped into hot tears trailing down Hiccup’s cheeks, as he clung desperate onto Jack’s hoodie.

“It’s okay. I’ve got you.” Jack said softly, rubbing soothing circles on Hiccup’s back. “Let it all out.” It seemed to calm Hiccup down a bit, but the boy was still shaking and Jack didn’t even think twice about kissing the top of Hiccup’s head, pulling the other closer into his arms.

It took a while before Hiccup was completely calm again and Jack had ended up littering Hiccup’s face with comforting kisses, kissing his tears away. Toothless had joined the two a little while later, letting Hiccup cuddle up to him. In Jack’s opinion the ritual was a partial success. Toothless had gotten his wings back and seemed much happier for it. But he wouldn’t say that to Hiccup now, who did consider this a failure of his abilities and likely would not listen to anything else right now.

At dawn they flew back, Jack carrying Hiccup and Toothless testing out his new wings, and for the first time Jack didn’t even fall once.

 

* * *

 

A lot of things still confused Hiccup about that night. Even now, a week later, the event played over and over again in his head. He still couldn’t figure out what was wrong. Had he accidentally mixed up the words or gotten the time frame wrong? Maybe there was something about the herbs . . . The ritual started out fine. So why hadn’t it worked?

Toothless didn’t seem to mind as much as Hiccup did, now that he had the ability to fly again. He usually flew a few rounds outside the house, never straying too far. Hiccup watched him from the window when he did and every time he looked away Toothless would land, cooing Hiccup to come join again. It was the feline’s way of including Hiccup, he knew, and it made him feel a bit better to know that Toothless did miss flying with Hiccup as well. He was at least glad that nothing bad had happened to Toothless. He wouldn’t have been able to bear that.

“You done for today, bud?” He asked, stirring a mug of hot chocolate, when Toothless landed on the windowsill. The cat let out a happy meow. “I’m glad to see at least someone is enjoying themselves.”

Toothless gave Hiccup a quick nuzzle before trotting past to his feeding bowl and began eating. Hiccup had already had dinner and he wondered where Jack was. Absentmindedly he tugged on the blue hoodie he was wearing, which he had ‘borrowed’ from Jack’s closet. He had been using Jack’s clothes a lot the past week, because not only were they incredibly comfortable, Jack’s scent also helped Hiccup calm down.

The turning of the lock alerted Hiccup Jack had come home. The white-haired male entered and did a double take.

“Is that my hoodie?” He asked, a strange tone in his voice. Hiccup only took a sip from his drink.

“No . . . I’m wearing it so it can’t be yours.”

“I was only going to say it looked good on you. A bit big around the shoulders, though.” Jack chuckled, smiling that beautiful smile. That was the other thing Hiccup felt confused about. After the temple and Jack kissing his face, his longing for the other male had only intensified. He wanted Jack’s touch again, now that he knew what it felt like. To have his hands all over his body, holding him, stroking him, all the while whispering in his ear with that deep voice of his. Jack had kissed him, just not on the lips, so what did that mean? Was Jack just a touchy feely person or . . .

“Are you okay?” The question snapped him out of his thoughts.

“Huh, yeah. Why?”

“Because lately you haven’t retorted with at least one witty comment whenever I tease you.” Jack pointed out. And damn it, Jack was right. This wasn’t like him. “Have you even left the house this week?”

“What would I need to leave the house for?” Hiccup asked, finding the whole idea ridiculous.

“Fresh air.”

“Because I can’t get that from the window or anything.” See, witty comment. He didn’t need to go out.

“Okay, that settles it. We’re going out, doctor’s orders.” Jack said determined.

“Jack, I know for a fact that you are not a doctor.” But Jack didn’t listen and instead dragged Hiccup to the door.

“I heal bruises and such. I might as well be.” He said as he pushed Hiccup out.  “Now, Toothless we’re going out for a while. I would appreciate it if you left the furniture unscratched.” The look Jack received in return could only mean ‘I make no promises’.

“Toothless, help!” Hiccup called out dramatically, but it seemed even Toothless was tired of Hiccup’s moping and didn’t lift a claw to assist him. “Betrayed by my own dragon.”

“Oh, suck it up and take it like a man.” Jack said and Hiccup wondered if he was aware of just how many innuendoes were present in that sentence.

“So what now, Doctor Overland?” Hiccup asked after they had walked a few blocks.

“I hadn’t really thought this far yet.” Jack confessed.

“So does that mean we can go home now?” Hiccup asked, ready to turn around, but Jack quickly grabbed his hand.

“Let’s go flying!” He suggested.

“Why?” Hiccup asked skeptically.

“Well, you once said you and Toothless were like two halves of a whole, right? And look how much flying has cheered him up.” Jack reasoned, and in a way, he was right. Hiccup did miss flying.

“In case you haven’t noticed, Toothless is still a cat —fine, he’s a cat with wings —but still a cat . There is no way he can carry me.”

“I can carry you.” Jack said and before Hiccup could protest he scooped him up.

“Jack, you crash every other minute!” Hiccup quickly pointed out.

“I’ll be extra careful, promise. You’ve just got to believe in me.” He said it so confidently and full of hope, Hiccup really didn’t feel like disagreeing.

“Okay.” He said, before the excitement at a flight to come crept into his voice and added a little more enthusiastic. “Okay, let’s fly!”

Jack took off, keeping a steady grip on Hiccup, and the two floated through the evening sky.

It wasn’t until he was in the air again, properly this time, just joyriding, that he realized how much he had missed this. He still felt a little sad that Toothless wasn’t here with him, but he knew his dragon would approve. Jack took them over the buildings, passed open windows where they could see kids playing in their houses and Jack seemed to catch their cheerful mood as he pulled off a few loops for their amusement.

They flew past the parks, through the trees, leaving a trail of leaves in their wake, causing ripples in the ponds and scaring off a few ducks. The light from the lanterns twinkled gently on the water together with the glow from the fireflies. Then Jack took them up, all the way to the highest dome, past the clock tower and the great bell. And because Jack loved the tale of Peter Pan he really couldn’t pass up the opportunity to mess with the hands of the clock, setting the time back by a quarter.

They flew on for a while, until their faces were red and their throats sore from the joyful yelling. They were both laughing hard and Hiccup couldn’t help himself. With the adrenaline still rushing through his veins he leaned up and kissed Jack.

It was a deep and long kiss and when Jack kissed back, the two of them found themselves trying to mush their faces as close together as possible. Hiccup’s arms slid around Jack’s neck, hands running through his hair, tugging on it whenever he wanted Jack to gasp. He slipped his tongue in, running it over the small indent left by Jack’s previous piercing.

Jack was equally enthusiastic, goading Hiccup on by moaning ever so sweetly against his lips, scratching his cheek against the stubble Hiccup had after not shaving a week before traveling down to suck on the vein in his neck. In a daring acrobatic move Hiccup locked his legs around Jack’s waist, rolling their hips together to create a passionate friction. It was getting too much, too hot and it left their heads cloudy. Hiccup hand trailed down, undoing the buttons on Jack’s pants and slipping in to play with the male’s hardening cock.

“Hiccup, stop.” Jack said between kisses.

“Why?” Hiccup asked confused, pulling his hand out. “I really like you and I thought with this . . .”

“Because if we continue I’ll drop us.” Oh, right. They were still flying.

“So. . . We fly back home and continue this?”

“Can’t you feel how hard I am? Of course we are.” Jack quickly reassured him.

“Good, because I’ve been having these fantasies for a while now and . . . “

“Okay, I really need you to stop talking now, before I decide to just drop us on the nearest roof and take you.”

Jack flew them home in record time and they entered through the window of Jack’s bedroom. They wasted no time in pulling each other clothes off, their mouths never leaving the other’s now that they were safely on the ground, their hands grabbing and groping every newly revealed piece of skin.

In a hurry to play out his numerous fantasies, Hiccup pushed Jack on his bed, climbing on top of him with a sultry look. He straddled Jack, their cocks touching as he rolled their hips together.

“Do you have any lube?” He moaned, his breath hitching as Jack pinched his ass. Jack rummaged through the drawer with his left hand, his focus never leaving Hiccup as the two continued their kissing, licking and biting each other’s lips in their passion.

“Fuck. Shit. I don’t have any lube left.” He pulled his hand back and now used it to tease Hiccup’s nipples. Hiccup let out a small moan and grabbed both their dicks in his hands.

“We’ll just have to settle for this and buy lube tomorrow.” He breathed against Jack’s lips. He ran his thumb over their slits, collecting as much pre as possible before circling the heads and coating their shafts. And Hiccup rode him, both of them trusting in the slick hole Hiccup’s hands had created, swallowing each other’s moans as they moved together.

Jack wetted one finger with his spit before slipping it in Hiccup’s hole, thrusting in and out as best as he could. Hiccup leaned over, moaning, angling his hips to the source of pleasure.

“I promise you.” Jack said huskily. “The moment we have lube I’ll fuck you for real. Spear you right on my cock and make you ride me until you see stars.”

Well, Fuck. That was unfair. Jack shouldn’t say things like that when Hiccup already was so close to cumming. His mind fought for a clever response but Hiccup’s ability to think clear had completely turned to mush. He would just have to get back at him later.

Instead he pinched Jack nipples, scratching them softly with his nails. He loved the way Jack arched up, right into him, a gorgeous moan escaping from his plump saliva coated lips.

Their cocks pulsed and throbbed and Hiccup knew that it would be over soon. Shivers ran down Hiccup’s spine and Jack trembled underneath him. This was it. Streams of cum shot out all over Jack’s chest as they both reached their climax.

Both males panted to regain their breath and Hiccup let himself drop on Jack’s chest, trailing small circles with the cum left on Jack.

“God, why are you so sexy?” Jack asked, amused, after they finally caught their breath. “I swear everything you do turns me on.”

“Me? What about you! You practice those martial arts every morning barely clothed and then have the guts to come shirtless out of the shower. I couldn’t even go two days without beating one off thinking about you.” Hiccup played back.

“Well, why do you think my lube’s all used up.” Jack snickered.

“Boy, we are idiots.” Hiccup blushed and tried to hide his face in Jack’s shoulder, but Jack caught him with a kiss.

“We really should get cleaned up. I don’t want to move.” Jack complained, pulling Hiccup closer and wanting nothing more than to stay like this forever.

“I should check up on Toothless, too.” And indeed in the quiet they could hear the sounds of scratching on the door. “Yep, we’ve been caught. Better go see what mister bossy pants wants now before he tears the door down completely. Come on, we can get cleaned up too.” Hiccup said, getting up.

“Do you think the shower will make things slick enough to go all the way?” Jack wondered out loud, his intentions clear in his eyes.

“I don’t even know if two people can fit in there together.” Hiccup said, before grinning too and adding, “Want to go find out?”

Turns out the shower was indeed too small.

 

* * *

 

The next few days were spent fucking on every surface in the apartment, both finding a new happiness with their arrangement. And since Hiccup spent the night in Jack’s bed anyway, Hiccup’s bed in the living room had been turned into a couch again. Jack still would have to share Hiccup with Toothless though. The cat didn’t like being locked out so he often scratched the door until he was let in. He joined them on the bed, much to Jack’s dismay, as the feline had gotten into the habit of sleeping on Jack’s face.

So, one fine morning later, after Jack had left for the Facility after a delicious round of morning sex, Hiccup spent his day lazing, browsing the internet in hopes that he might just find some New Age spells. He had poured himself a cup of coffee, reading one of the post-it notes Jack had left for him and now Toothless was purring contentedly in his lap. For some reason, having boundless sex with Jack had renewed Hiccup’s determination at finding a solution and Hiccup already had a few stubbornness issues of his own. He didn’t hurry it as he had promised Jack he’d take it easy and after a few hours of googling he had a few spells he might try.

An orange pop-up and a ping sound alerted him to a message. Astrid had come online and she wasted no time in calling him. They hadn’t agreed to call today, having just had their last conversation yesterday when Hiccup had told her about his new development with Jack, so Hiccup wondered why she’d come online. The screen opened and Astrid appeared.

“Hiccup! Oh, thank Thor you’re still okay.” Was the first thing she said. “Are you still living with Jack?”

“Wait, hang on. Why wouldn’t I be okay? And yes, why?”

“You have to get out of there, right now!” She demanded urgently. “Just grab Toothless and leave.”

“Astrid, you’re making no sense! Will you just tell me what’s going on?” Astrid bit her lip, hesitating whether or not to tell him. Hiccup had never seen her so worried.

“. . . I did some digging after our last conversation.” She confessed. “I just wanted to see what would come up. I didn’t actually expect to find something . . .”

“What? Astrid, what is it?”

“Haven’t you ever wondered why Jack lives alone even though he’s only nineteen. Well, a few years back there was an accident involving both Jack’s parents.” Astrid spoke calmly, weighting her every word. “Now here’s where the journalists can’t agree on. Some say they disappeared on a vacation, only to be found frozen to death, others say that they died because an Ice spell backfired. They all agree on one thing, though . . .”

“What?” Hiccup asked, unsure if he wanted to know the answer at all.

“That it was Jack who did it.”

How-how was he supposed to process that. It just couldn’t be true. Jack would never. . .

“Astrid.” He finally said. “I don’t —Jack wouldn’t. . .”

“Hiccup, I know you like him and you two have that thing going on, but he’s not what he seems.” Hiccup couldn’t listen to this anymore and shut the laptop. Astrid would berate him for it later, he was sure. Right now he needed some time to think.

Hiccup knew he didn’t have the best track record when it came to judging people, more often than not he turned out way too trusting. Astrid was different. She had a gut instinct that was almost never wrong and, even though Hiccup would never admit it out loud, he could have saved both of them some trouble if he listened to her more often. She was wrong this time, however. Hiccup was sure of that.

She didn’t know Jack like he did. She didn’t know the man who would wake Hiccup by plastering kisses all over his face. The man who made silly faces at crying kids in the supermarket only to make them smile again. He looked at the post-it note on cupboard, Jack had even drawn a smiley face and a few hearts.

He sighed. Determined to prove Astrid wrong he would conduct a little search of his own. He opened his laptop again and quickly closed Skype. Astrid was still trying to call him and he didn’t want to answer right now. He opened his internet browser and typed Jack’s name into google. The first page was filled with news sites, all bearing titles such as,

_Spell goes wrong, Child freezes own parents_

_Apprentice Ice Mage_ _’_ _s family dies from frost. Accident or not?_

_Great Ice Mage Jillian Overland gets frozen by son._

It went on like that for the next two pages as well. All articles were from well-known news channels, mostly written by journalist who had a reasonable good reputation. Hiccup let the mouse hover over the first link, but then decided that he shouldn’t click it. Even if it was true, he wanted to ask Jack first, to give him a chance to explain himself.

What would this mean though? Even if it was true, would he abandon Jack because of it? Was Jack a danger to him or Toothless? No, of that he was sure. Even though the white-haired male seemed fond of surprising Hiccup with cold kisses to his neck or freezing fingers tickling his sides, he had more than enough control over his magic now. Hiccup smiled fondly when he remember Jack claiming Hiccup was so warm he must have a sleeping dragon inside him and thus wouldn’t freeze even if Jack teased him a bit.

Evening eventually came and Jack would return home soon. Hiccup paced the living room, wondering how he was going to bring up the subject.

“So Jack. My best friend claims you’ve killed your parents, is this true?” Hiccup tried to himself. “Wow, that was just outright awful. How do you think I should ask, Toothless?” He asked his dragon-cat, who looked up from his butt-licking with an uninterested expression. “I let you lick my face with that tongue. . . Ugh! Okay, what about. . . Jack, how come you live alone? No, that’s too random.”

Hiccup mulled for a bit before a knock on the window startled him. He lifted the curtain and gave out a yell when he saw Jack floating in front of it. Jack started snickering and Hiccup made a show out of locking the window. Only Jack’s pathetic expression made Hiccup open it and let Jack in.

“Sorry. I’m sorry. But you should have seen your face. I just couldn’t resist.” Jack said.

“Well, excuse me for not expecting to see something so unpleasant when I want to look outside.” Hiccup resorted, becoming more amused than angry with the situation.

“Then you shouldn’t look across the street. Mrs. Harrison doesn’t close the curtains when she showers.” Jack shuddered. “I think she even winked at me once. But don’t worry. There’s only one person for me.” He said, pulling Hiccup closer and went to kiss him. Hiccup, too caught up in what he had learned today, turned away. “Hiccup, Freckles, is something wrong?” Jack asked concerned. Hiccup bit his lip. “Come on, you can tell me.”

“I heard some things . . . about you . . . and your parents.” Came the quiet answer. Jack pulled away, obviously not expecting this subject.

“Oh . . . What did they say?” Jack sounded careful and. . . scared. He sounded scared and a pang shot through Hiccup’s chest.

“Something about an accident with a spell or something. And that you were involved somehow. I didn’t want to know more. I wanted you to tell me.” Hiccup confessed. Jack sat on the couch and motioned for Hiccup to sit. Hiccup sat down and Jack began.

“I knew this would come up sooner or later.” Jack said. “It’s not something I like to talk about, but I think you deserve to know.” He took a deep breath before saying. “You’re looking at the person who got his parents killed.”

“. . . Jack, that’s . . .”

“Let me finish.” He shushed Hiccup. “My mother was a powerful Witch, one of the best Ice Mages around and when I was old enough she began to teach me too. I was fascinated, every little snowflake I could create was so beautiful to me I just couldn’t get enough. It wasn’t long before I started using my new magic to goof off and use it for fun. I froze sideways. I started snowball fights with the neighbors’kids and my sister. I even froze a few drinking fountains whenever someone would use them.”

“One day my mother got a job up in Norway. A girl there had a very strong affinity for Ice magic and because she had a bit of trouble controlling her powers they asked my mom to teach her. Turns out the girl had a lot of confidence issues and her parents weren’t really helping either by telling her to keep it hidden. I just wanted to make her smile, you know, to show her the same beauty I saw. So I slowly convinced her to try more spells, to become more sure of herself. She started to smile more and it seemed like she finally got the hang of her power. That’s when we realized just what she could do. She was so strong . . . and we wanted to test that. So when my mother was distracted we grabbed her Grimoire and looked for a spell.” Hiccup held his breath in fright, already disliking where this was going. There was a reason why a Grimoire was only allowed to a graduated Witch.

“We just randomly choose a spell. Everything seemed fine at first, until the spell required more and more magic. She started to panic and the room was filled with a fury of frost and snow. It twirled around us like a hurricane. That’s when my parents ran in. My mom tried to stop the spell, but she was too late. The spell exploded and froze everything it touched. I was only alive because my father shielded me at the last minute . . . They weren’t so lucky.” Jack’s voice started to crack, his eyes filled to the brim with unshed tears.

Hiccup took his hand in his and gave a gentle squeeze. Even Toothless came over to offer Jack some comfort, nuzzling him and curling up on his lap. Jack’s hand absentmindedly ran though his fur. Hiccup scurried closed to pull Jack against him and they stayed like that for a while. Until Jack felt ready to talk again.

“They won’t let me see her anymore.” He finally said, his voice barely audible.

“Who?” Hiccup felt kind of dumb for asking.

“My little sister.” He answered.

“Why?” Hiccup asked softly.

“Because her new adoptive father doesn’t want me around her. He says I’m a danger to her . . . Do you think that’s true?”

“No. It wasn’t your fault —”

“But I convinced her to do the spell!” Jack interrupted him, furiously believing in his guilt.

“It was an accident. You were young and didn’t know what would happen.” He grabbed Jack face gently and made him look into his eyes. “But you do now.”

“That doesn’t mean I didn’t mess up completely.”

“No, it doesn’t. However, it’s also unfair to keep beating yourself up over it.” Jack pondered over those words a bit.

“I think I know that.” He eventually confessed. “Deep down . . . I don’t actually listen to it. I still go see her when her father is at his job. But there are moments . . .”

“When you feel like everything they said about you is true?”

“Yeah.” Jack let his head rest on Hiccup’s shoulder, staring at nothing in particular. “You should meet her sometime. She’s such a good kid. And smart. You’d like her.”

“I would love to.” Hiccup said honestly. “Is that where you’ve been going in your free time?”

“Yeah. I visit her when she has to stay after school, waiting to be picked up. I usually play with her and the other kids.”

“That does indeed seem like something you would do.” Hiccup kissed his nose, causing Jack to let out a giggle. Man, did he love that sound.

“Hey, Hiccup?” Jack asked after a while.

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for letting me tell you this.”

 

* * *

 

Jack hadn’t felt this good in a long time. Ever since he told Hiccup the truth about his past he felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Sure the rest of the city sometimes side-eyed him or even completely ignored him, but none of that mattered anymore. He had Hiccup now.

After Jack had told him everything, they spent the rest of the night cuddling on the couch, kissing each other all over until Jack fell asleep in Hiccup’s arms. It had been pretty good after that, until Astrid had stormed in the next day with an axe in her hand demanding Jack’s head. That had not been fun. Luckily, Hiccup had managed to calm the blonde down and Astrid and Jack had finally been formally introduced. Jack had also noted that he should never prematurely close off a conversation with the female as she would literally track you down to demand an explanation.

Today Jack’d had a free day so naturally he’d visited Emma at her school. The young girl was ecstatic at seeing her older brother again and began to tell him all about what had happened to her since the last time he visited. Apparently Maggie and Tommy had broken up and Tommy had now started dating Blaze. Hilal would get her first hijab tomorrow with her mother and Petro had gotten braces. Eventually she started asking questions about Hiccup, begging Jack to bring him along sometime soon as she couldn’t wait to meet the guy who had turned her older brother into such a lovesick goop. They played together with Jamie and another few of her friends after that, turning the entire playground into one big game of tag. Finally Jack had to leave as they spotted her father’s car pulling up. And as he bid them goodbye Emma made him promise to bring Hiccup with him next time.

With a big smile on his face Jack flew home. He had promised Hiccup he would use the front door like a normal person, so reluctantly he landed and traveled up the stairs.

When he reached his door he could hear Toothless frantically scratching the door. At first Jack scoffed at the thought of broken furniture he was getting tired of fixing up with a spell, but then he heard Toothless’desperately meowing and Jack felt something was wrong. He rushed to the door and wasted no time in getting it open. The first thing that hit him was the terrible scent in the air and it was suddenly difficult to breath. Then he spotted Hiccup lying on the floor, unconscious, next to a few knocked over ritual tools, Toothless now trying to pull him over to Jack.

“Hiccup!” Jack shouted worried and he hurried to the teen. Immediately he checked for a pulse and was relieved to fine one. A soft breeze hit his face and Jack looked up to see his window thrown in. It wasn’t all that hard to figure out what had happened. Without a further thought he lifted Hiccup up, and when Toothless let out a meow Jack decided to grab him to, and flew to the nearest hospital.

After Hiccup had been carried off to receive medical attention Jack finally noticed just how shaken he had gotten. His hands trembled and his heart pounded a million times faster. With a relieved sob he sat down in the waiting room. Toothless looked at him curiously, and even the cat looked a bit anxious about the fate of his owner. Jack picked him up and scratched behind his ears.

“You saved that big doofus, didn’t you?” He said fondly, really having warmed up to Toothless these past two months and it seemed the feeling was mutual as the cat leaned into the petting. Jack whipped out his phone and searched for Stoick’s number. “Better call Hiccup’s father about this.”

Stoick arrived together with Astrid a little bit before Hiccup woke up and they were allowed to visit him. The three entered the room to find the brunette smiling a bit sheepishly at them. Stoick immediately went up to his son and hugged him tightly.

“H-hi, Dad. Good to see you too. Would you mind letting up a bit?” Hiccup stammered and Stoick, a bit embarrassed, finally let go.

“You’re a real idiot, you know.” Astrid said, before punching him on the shoulder. “Do you know what could have happened if Toothless and Jack hadn’t been there?”

“Actually? No . . . I wanted to try a Cleansing spell from the internet, but I blacked out after casting it.” Hiccup said.

“The spell went wrong, that’s what happened. It created a vortex that slowly sucked the oxygen out of the air. If Toothless hadn’t thrown in that window you would have suffocated.” Jack said sternly, really not used to this kind of voice.

“Oh, wow. Uh . . .? Sorry.”

“Better luck next time.” Astrid said with a small smile.

“Next time?” Stoick questioned, his tone rising to fury. “There will be no next time!”

“Really, dad? This again?” Hiccup sounded frustrated.

“You almost died, son! Because of magic!” Stoick yelled.

“That was just a onetime thing!” Hiccup shot back. Astrid nudged Jack’s shoulder and motioned for them to leave the room. Back in the hall they could still hear the two shouting.

“Best to let them at it. They have this discussion almost every month.” Astrid said. “It usually turns out all right.”

“Have you known Hiccup for long?” He asked her, still a bit wary of the teen who would literally hack down someone’s door to protect her best friend.

“Since we were kids.” She explained. “We grew up as neighbors in a small town. Everyone basically knew everyone. It was still a while though before we became friends. He used to follow me around with this lost puppy look on his face and it pissed me off back then. We became closer after he got Toothless and became surer of himself. He’s also the one who introduced me to my own dragon, Stormfly.”

“Wow, cool. Does everyone in your hometown own a dragon?” Jack asked, fascinated.

“Most do.”

“That sounds amazing.”

“You should come sometime. Hiccup can show you around and you’d get to meet everyone. I have a feeling you’ll be with Hiccup for the long while.” She sounded confident of that and it made Jack wonder. Did they really have something that could last long? Or would it all be over after Hiccup’s exam ended? Jack sure hoped they would last. He had never been so happy before.

“You really think so?” He asked her.

“Yeah. You’re all right. You care about him and you saved him. You’re a good guy. I’m sorry I thought otherwise.” Astrid said honest and Jack realized she was the kind of person who was very up-front about her feelings and opinions, which made it all the more sincere.

“Thanks, Astrid. You’re a very good friend, too.” Jack replied. Things were getting a bit too mushy for Astrid’s taste so she gave him a small punch, a gesture of affection he had come to realize.

Stoick stormed out a few minutes later, obviously looking angry at his disobedient son. He stopped for a bit as he took notice of the teens and visually calmed down a bit.

“Oh, hello, Astrid, Jack.” And the giant man turned to Jack. For the first time he wondered if Stoick knew about his relationship with Hiccup and the thought made him sweaty. “Jack, I won’t say I approve of your magic or you supporting my son to practice it as well, but I want to thank you for saving his live. You’re a decent kid.”

“Thank you, sir.” Jack said nervously.

“I know he’s going to try again eventually, or do something equally stupid.” Stoick admitted. “He loves that dragon like nothing else and will stop at nothing to help him. No matter the cost. And that’s what worries me. After his mother’s disappearance seven years ago, he’s all I have left. I don’t think I could handle losing him too. . .

“I promise I’ll keep him safe, sir.” Jack said solemnly. Stoick nodded, relieved, and with that he stormed off.

The two entered Hiccup’s room again and they spend the rest of the day talking and goofing off. Astrid left just before nightfall and Jack stayed with Hiccup overnight, as the nurses wanted to keep him just until the next day for observation. Hiccup argued a bit, saying Jack should go home so he could sleep in a bed instead of a chair, but Jack showed that he could be just as stubborn as the dragon rider was.

Eventually Hiccup fell asleep and Jack was ashamed to say he had fallen into an old habit and watched him sleep for a bit. He affectionately brushed Hiccup’s hair aside, being careful not to wake him up. Toothless was curled up on Hiccup’s lap, guarding him after the close call of today, purring in his sleep, his wings folded up.

Why hadn’t Toothless turned back yet, Jack wondered. Every other time he saw Hiccup do magic he excelled at it, with the exception of today. And by all means, Jack knew the spell the committee had used. It shouldn’t be _this_ difficult. It left Jack wondering though. What went wrong each time Hiccup tried to reverse the spell? Maybe he should take a look.

When he had invited Hiccup into his home to help him, North and the rest had made him swear not to interfere with the exam and only help from the sidelines. But Hiccup had almost died in his effort to undo the magic and enough is enough. Jack decided to take a look at the rune coding using Rune Hacking.

Rune Hacking was essentially a translation of a spell into visible runes that could be read and, if you were very carefully, tweaked. It was a very modern type of magic and not widely practiced yet as it had a few dangerous applications. If you messed around with the runes too much the essence of the spell could change to do who-knows-what. Jack would only take a look though, to see what was wrong.

He called his magic to his hand and made a few hand signs, causing the runes of the spell to appear in yellow-green symbols, floating around in the air in a circle around Toothless. He looked around curiously. The spell basically worked as a lock on Toothless’s real form and it had been broken in some places, allowing his wings to return. He moved around, reading as he went, until he stumbled on a part that had the runes smudged. Here some green runes were overlapped by a few red ones, making it difficult to read as they tried to merge together. So there _was_ something wrong with the spell. How could Toothiana have missed this?

Being extra careful not to screw up the spell he motioned the runes on top to be lifted, creating two floating rings of text. Now he could read what was written and what he found shocked him. The red runes were functioning like a second lock, making the spell underneath impossible to change or reserve until this one had been opened first. And the key that was required was Blood magic.

With barely contained fury, Jack dispelled the runes. He went to leave before turning around and giving Hiccup a quick kiss on his forehead, after which he stormed out of the room and the hospital. He needed answers and he knew just who would have them.

He flew at high speed to the Facility where he knew the man would be working late. Angrily, he swung the doors of the office open, glaring at the man behind the desk. Pitch Black, that bastard, only looked up with an air of superiority and disdain.

“Most people consider it polite to knock, Mister Overland.” He sneered, drawing himself up to full height.

“What have you done to it?” Jack said, his tone dangerously low, drawing out every word. “What have you done to the spell?!”

Pitch eyed him curiously, a vile twinkle of enjoyment sparkling in his yellow eyes and the room they were standing in felt darker than before, the only light coming from a few candles.

“Seeing as you’re here I think you’re perfectly aware of what I have done.” He said without a care, the shadows from the candles gently dancing in the background, flickering with each movement of the light.

“Don’t play games with me! Do you even know what you have done?! Hiccup nearly killed himself trying to reverse the spell! He worked so hard!” Jack yelled, so furious he didn’t take notice of the shadows slowly creeping to where no light could cast them. “How could you do that?!”

“And here I thought you were all fun and games.” A crooked smile with long sharp teeth displaced itself on Pitch’s face and a chill went down Jack’s spine. “But never mind, I’ll tell you, consider it a show of good will. Unlocking that Blood spell will reverse not only the spell on that dragon but also a spell that has been bothering me for a long time. I can’t do it myself, the caster made sure of that. So I planned and plotted. I admit, it wasn’t very smart of me to hope that other fool could pull of Blood magic, but Hiccup is smart . . . and very desperate. After all, I made sure the others wouldn’t see anything wrong with the spell, changing their vision, making them only see what I wanted them to see. Did it drive Hiccup crazy? Insane enough to try something dangerous?”

“Stop this, you evil bastard! Undo the curse!” Jack demanded. He wanted to attack the man, to hurt Pitch the same way he had hurt Hiccup. But he had left his staff at home and he felt oddly vulnerable without it.

“Why would I do that? I have waited too long to give up now, Jack, and I won’t let such a fool as you stand in my way.” Pitch expression changed from a smiling psychopath to a wrathful demon. “But don’t worry, you’ll play an important role in undoing the spell.”

Jack had been so focused on Pitch that he hadn’t thought to watch his back. He hadn’t taken notice of the darkness creeping up behind him, controlled by the man in front of him. And just after Jack felt a rush of fear from behind, the shadows caught him.

 

* * *

 

Jack hadn’t been there when Hiccup woke up and Hiccup assumed he had went to get breakfast or something. But after a full hour Jack still had not returned. Hiccup was kind of disappointed in that. Even though he had argued with Jack last night to return home, knowing that he had actually left Hiccup stung a bit. Eventually Hiccup was allowed to check out of the hospital and there was still no sign of Jack.

With Toothless in his arms, as the hospital was a bit too small to fly in, he walked down the stairs into the entrance hall.

He mulled over what his father had said. He could understand where Stoick was coming from, after all, if Hiccup was honest, he had been quite scared too to find out he had landed himself in the hospital. But Hiccup just couldn’t quit, he couldn’t do that to Toothless. Even though . . . He had made absolutely no progress at all. Was this really all he was capable of? If so, then maybe he _should_ give up.

He went to the desk to check himself out.

“If you would sign here, Mr. Haddock.” The desk worker said in a fake cheery voice. “And everything seems to be in order. Here are your belongings back. Do you require anything else?”

“Ugh, no. I think I have everything.” He said grabbing his wallet and some other stuff he had kept in his pockets yesterday.

“Oh, I almost forgot. There was a man asking for you.” The worker said and Hiccup’s mind immediately went to Jack. Maybe they kicked him out of his room and that’s why he hadn’t been there.

“Did he have white hair and look around my age?” Hiccup asked, a bit embarrassed of how excited he sounded.

“. . .No. . . He’s the tall guy over there, all dressed up in black. A bit of a creep if you ask me.” And Hiccup felt his hope drop again. He turned towards the man and saw to his surprise it was Professor Black.

“Professor Black? What’s he doing here?” He asked, more to himself.

“Look, kid. If you want I can call security —”

“No, that’s fine. I know him.” He said, waving the offer away. He walked past a few other people until he closed in on the older man. Professor Black turned and greeted him with a smile, so unlike his last meeting.

“Hello, Hiccup.” He said, sounding much kinder. “When I heard what had happened I immediately thought to see how you were.” Somehow Hiccup found that hard to believe, still . . . maybe . . . “How are you?”

“I’m fine. It was just a small accident. It didn’t leave any lasting damage.” Hiccup answered, a bit unnerved by the man in front of him. Toothless still didn’t seem to like him either.

“It’s good to hear that.” Professor Black sounded way too sweet, like a poison laced with honey, waiting to consume the one tempted enough to take a sip. “There is also another reason why I am here. Hiccup, I’ve come to convince you to quit.”

“What?”Hiccup asked surprised. “Why?!”

“It has come to our attention, that with the exception of the wings, you haven’t been able to make any changes to the spell. And now here you are, letting it become a danger to yourself. Why, Jack was sick with worry when he came to my office this morning. He nearly begged me to undo the spell.” Hiccup flinched at the mention of Jack. So that’s where he had gone to. He . . . also believed Hiccup should just call it quits. Did he stop believing in Hiccup? Hiccup felt his heart clench painfully at the thought. Even Jack didn’t think he could do it. “I’ve talked with the others and we are willing to reverse the curse should you want to give up.” That’s good, Hiccup thought absentmindedly, Toothless could go back to being happy . . . and not be weighed down by Hiccup’s failure. Maybe he should.

“Yeah, okay.” Hiccup found himself saying. He felt incredibly disconnected from himself and when he spoke it almost sounded like it came from all across the room. Toothless, who had previously refused to take his eyes of Professor Black, now turned back to Hiccup and gave his chin a questioning nuzzle to ask what was wrong. “They’re going to change you back, bud.” Toothless shot him a look and promptly placed his paw on Hiccup’s face, not liking that it implied Hiccup wouldn’t be the one to undo the spell. Hiccup took his paw off. “We’ll be able to fly again, bud. I think I’ve kept us grounded long enough.”

“Good choice, Mr. Haddock. If you would follow me.” Professor Black said, motioning to the door with his hand. Toothless made a quick turn in his arms, digging into Hiccup’s flesh with his claws.

“Calm down, bud. This might be your only change.” He whispered soothingly.

Professor Black lead them to the transportation room where multiple warp pads were operated. All official buildings had them so help could be teleported straight to the situation, or as close as possible. Though, not all buildings were accessible by just anyone. Jack’s neighborhood had a warp pad a few streets away, but it had been damaged and the officials at City Hall didn’t consider if a priority to fix it. . . . That thought let him straight back to thinking of Jack . . .

Why couldn’t Jack just have come and tell Hiccup himself? Or better yet, been there when Hiccup woke up. He . . . might have been looking forward to that last night after Jack so stubbornly refused to leave.

“Professor Black, may I ask why you were the one to pick me up, and not Jack or someone else?” Hiccup asked cautiously. He didn’t want to accidentally upset the man and return him to his cranky mood.

“I didn’t want to go myself, but I was the only one with time. North and the others are still finishing up a job with another examinee. They won’t be joining us. And as for Jack . . . Despite what Mr. Overland likes to pretend, he actually has a job to do. Which you’ve been distracting him from for quite some time now.” Professor Black explained as they queued for the warp pad. Hiccup deliberately ignored the quip about Jack, as he felt the guilty twist and twirl in his stomach like an angry dragon.

“Won’t it take all five of you to reverse the spell?” Hiccup asked, to take his mind of matters.

“No, it is a relatively easy one. It left us quite baffled why you were taking so long.” Professor Black looked down upon him from his tall build, a small smile on his face. But it had lost its pretend kindness and now could be found displaying a barely contained enjoyment, a wickedness that found pleasure in the pain of others. It freaked Hiccup out, but before he could do anything about it they were up next for teleportation and made their way on the pad. “Let’s go, Mr. Haddock.” Pitch gave the instructions to the operator and in a flash they were at the Facility.

Professor Black took the lead and guided Hiccup down a few stairs until Hiccup was sure they weren’t above ground level anymore. The corridors were getting smaller and smaller as they went down, and with no windows the only light illuminating their path was a few torches on the wall. Hiccup had never been to this part before and he wondered why they were going so far away from the usual rooms. Professor Black seemed to just fit right in with the surroundings, his black robe seamless blending in with the shadows on the wall, his trail flickering like a dark flame as he walked.

Toothless was on edge the whole time. His wings were stretched as wide as they could go, making himself appear bigger and more threatening and he looked ready to take on anything that would try to harm Hiccup or himself. Hiccup wondered about his weird behavior before deciding that this was all very strange. Something was wrong.

“Something wrong, Hiccup?” Professor Black asked, when he noticed the boy had stopped.

“Just where are we going?” Hiccup asked carefully, clutching Toothless a bit tighter.

“There’s a room just at the end of that hall perfect for reversing the spell. You can just see the door over there.” And the man made an lax gesture to the wooden door just a few meters ahead. It was just a normal door, but Hiccup couldn’t shake off the feeling that he shouldn’t go in there. Toothless seemed to agree. Professor Black just smiled and then disappeared into the shadows.

Hiccup gasped and turned around, only to find that the path he had just come from had turned into solid stone. He put Toothless down and tried the wall, but no matter where he touched or hit, it wouldn’t disappear, even a few Destructions spells didn’t do anything. Hiccup looked back as he heard Toothless hiss at the door, which had crept closer when Hiccup wasn’t looking.

“Professor Black, this isn’t funny.” Hiccup called, pressing himself against the wall, wanting nothing more than to leave. A faint thumping sound caused him to turn around again. The wall was slowly vibrating like a drum. “Anyone?! Help! Can anybody hear me?!”

“Hiccup?” A voice echoed off the wall. It sounded like Jack’s voice!

“Jack?” Hiccup called. “Jack, is that you?!”

“Hiccup . . .” It came again.

“Jack, where are you?!” But Hiccup already knew the answer. The voice had come from the door.

“Hiccup~” The voice called in a sing-song mocking voice, daring him to come closer. Hiccup took a step even though every part of his body was telling him not to.

“Hiccup —” Jack’s voice sounded scared and ended abruptly, as if the air had been cut from him. Hiccup couldn’t stand to listen to that voice any longer and opened the door.

The room lit up as Hiccup and Toothless went in and it took Hiccup’s eyes a while to adjust to the intensity of the light. He could hear a locking sound, signaling him that the door had locked itself. Then the light died down a bit and they saw they were in a large circular dungeon. The room was supported by five stone pillars standing a bit off from the walls. The room reminded Hiccup of the Temple of Mani, only this one was dark and twisted, as if it was a vile mockery of the original. When Hiccup turned around he saw that the door had completely disappeared. With a bad feeling in his stomach he turned forwards again. In the middle of the room, tied to a decaying wooden bed frame, was Jack.

Hiccup rushed to him when he saw Jack wasn’t moving or even awake. Worriedly he checked for a pulse, a breath, any sign of live and was relieved to find one, although Jack’s hot temperature was another thing. He was practically burning up. Hiccup pulled his hand away. Jack had never felt so hot before, even as they had slept together, and it worried Hiccup to no end.

“Jack, wake up.” Hiccup said, shaking him, but Jack stayed still. This was weird. Normally, Jack was a light sleeper, sometimes even bordering on insomniac. Why wasn’t he waking up? It must have something to do with the heat, Hiccup thought. Maybe that’s what was preventing him from waking up. Hiccup inspected the metal chains with which Jack was tied up and they indeed bore some marking indicating that magic was afoot. They were specially design for Ice Mages, making sure Ice magic couldn’t be used. They also required a Fire spell to break them, and, luckily, Hiccup was very good that those.

With minimal effort he heated the metal chains and broke them, being careful not to burn Jack. He tried waking Jack again.

“Jack, come on. Wake up.”

“Hmm? Hiccup?” Jack said fuzzy, his eyes fluttering open. “Wha-, where? How late is it? I feel like I slept for hours.” Then he shot up. “Wait! Pitch! Hiccup, get out of here!”

“Jack, calm down.” Hiccup tried. “I found you here tied up in the middle of the room. We’re under ground level. Professor Black, he . . . he led me here and disappeared.”

“Hiccup, he’s the reason the spells didn’t work on Toothless! He’s been using Blood magic to temper with it.” Jack said. Hiccup breath hitched at the realization. It wasn’t his fault it didn’t work. He repeated that again over and over in his mind, a sweet relief washing over him . . . before it turned to a burning anger. This meant Professor Black had dared to mess with Toothless. Hiccup didn’t take lightly to that. And then he had the nerve to kidnap Jack. . .

“You okay?” He asked Jack.

“Yeah, just got knocked out.” Jack said. “He has these shadow things that can grab you from behind if you don’t watch out.”

Toothless’s hiss was the only thing that alerted them on time. While they had been busy talking the shadows had grown larger and crept up on them. Toothless had spotted them and Jack’d tackled Hiccup out of the way just in time.

“Come out of hiding, Pitch!” Jack yelled at the walls. “Or are you scared?”

“Oh, but it is not me who is scared.” Pitch’s voice echoed off the walls, a strange soft iron clanging mixed in in the background. There was no metal in the room. “You don’t have a foot to stand on. You don’t know where I am or what I’ll do. I can practically feel your fear from all the way over here.”

“What have you done with Toothless?!” Hiccup yelled at nothing in particular.

“Nothing that can’t be undone. I just placed a very simple spell on top of the transformation. If you want, I can tell you how to break it.”

“Stop stalling, Pitch. Come out.” Jack demanded again, stepping in front of Hiccup. His hands fidgeting, longing for his staff.

The shadows flickered and Pitch appeared.

“Here I am.” He taunted. “And just what are you planning to do? We don’t have to fight, you know.” Pitch lifted his hand and a spell around Toothless became visible. A red rune broke from the others and gently floated into his hands. “All you have to do is break this lock.”

“That’s Blood magic.” Hiccup said.

“Yes. A sacrifice may have to be made.” Pitch smiled, his eyes lingering on Jack. “A lonely boy, in exchange for a mighty dragon.”

“What are you talking about?” Hiccup asked, afraid that he might already know the answer and he grabbed Jack’s arm.

“Do I have to spell out everything.” Pitch sighed. “Use Jack’s blood to do a tiny spell and you get your dragon back.”

“I have a feeling this is not just a tiny spell.”

“It might get a bit messy, but who would miss him, really? He’s either hated or ignored. Who would miss the boy who makes a mess of everything he touches?” Pitch drawled, taking great enjoyment into putting Jack down. Jack didn’t say anything and Hiccup worried he might actually believe it. So he tightened his hold on Jack’s arm and said.

“I would.” Hiccup said steadfast, pressing up against Jack’s back to let him know he was there. “I would miss him. And I’m sure his sister would, too. Find someone else to break the spell.” Even if it was the only way to reverse the spell on Toothless, neither Hiccup nor his dragon would probably forgive themselves if it caused someone else to die. Toothless seemed to agree as he nuzzled Jack leg.

Jack hastily whipped his eyes before straightening himself to face Pitch again.

“Seems like you have to do it yourself, Pitch.” Jack said, a smile back on his face.

“I can’t.” Pitch sneered, his face like acid. “She made very sure of that. Do you know what it is like to be trapped?!” He yelled. “This is not who I was, but that stupid spell keeps me confined like a prisoner. After my transformation I used to be so weak. For seven years I’ve been building up my strength, waiting until I could make my stand. I will not let your stupid morals get in the way of my freedom!” Over the ground, crawling like spiders, crept black sand toward Pitch’s hand, forming a black scythe. “I refuse to lose here!”

Like a maniac he swung his scythe. They had managed to dodge but it had been a close call. Toothless immediately went into action and leapt up, dodging Pitch’s attack, and latched onto his face with his nails. Pitch howled in fury, desperately trying to losing the cat from his face, but Toothless held on. Jack quickly pulled Hiccup behind a pillar.

“We need to get out of here.” Jack said.

“How? The door is gone.” Hiccup said back, peering over Jack’s shoulder to anxiously watch Toothless. Jack pulled him closer, not liking Hiccup so exposed.

“You know what this place remind me of?” Jack asked.

“The Temple of Mani?” Hiccup guessed.

“Exactly. It’s too dark to see, but if they have the same build. There should be an opening at the top.” Hiccup tried to look, but couldn’t see anything but shadows.

With a startled meow Toothless was finally thrown off and Pitch immediately caged him in dark sand.

“Toothless!” Hiccup yelled worriedly, his first instinct to run towards his dragon, but Jack pulled him back again just in time to avoid an energy blast from Pitch. Part of the pillar got hit and crumbled away. Furiously Hiccup called the flames from the candles and directed the flame strike towards Pitch. The room lit up and for a moment the top was visible.

“There. It has an opening.” Jack said.

“Now we just have to get Toothless and —Ah!” Hiccup yelled as they scrambled aside. Pitch had taken use of the shadows created by the flames and teleported right in front of them. His scythe had sliced the pillar they had been hiding behind clean in half.

“Foolish boy. Don’t you know that light only makes the shadows stronger.” Pitch said as they ran towards another pillar. Jack tried to shoot ice blasts for cover, but without his staff he wasn’t as accurate, missing Pitch every time.

Hiccup took notice of this, so when he passed the bed, he tried to break off a piece of wood. It was a bit sturdier than it looked and it took a few heavy pulled to take it off. When he finally managed to break if off it flung back and one of the nails scratched Hiccup’s left leg. It bled a bit, but Hiccup shrugged it off, too desperate to get back to Jack.

“What do you have that for?” Jack asked incredulous, as Hiccup joined him behind the pillar. Hiccup just held it between his hands and with a faint white light transformed it into a crooked shepherd hook.

“I know it’s not your real staff, but I noticed that you were uneasy without it.” Hiccup said, handing it to Jack. “It’s not perfect but —”

“No, no! It’s great.” Jack said, interrupting him. “I love it. Thank you.” And Jack did look more self-assured with the piece of wood in his hands.

“We have to stop him first.” Jack said. “Any bright ideas?” Hiccup looked into Jack’s blue eyes and got an idea. A very _bright_ idea.

“You said Ice magic is reflective, right?” Hiccup asked and Jack nodded. “Can you make a blizzard that will shroud the entire room in ice?”

“No problem.” Jack said, gripping his newly made staff with vigor. “Just what are you planning?”

“Just trust me.” Hiccup said with a reassuring smile. “I’ll distract Pitch and then you can strike.”

“Alright. Time for Pitch to cool down.” Jack said with a smile and Hiccup just shot him a look. Jack’s magic shot through the wood, engraving it with blue ice, and with a large swing cold winds erupted from the staff and raged through the room, coating the walls with ice and filling the air with snow.

It was now Hiccup’s turn and he closed his eyes as he summoned a huge heatless flame. The light reflected from every angle, filling the room with a bright flare and for a moment there were no shadows at all. A scream of pain alerted them that Pitch had been blinded. Jack struck quickly, being the only one still able to see and shot an ice blast straight towards the man, binding Pitch to the wall. Jack let the blizzard die down and with it the light. Hiccup opened his eyes again and Jack immediately pulled him in for a kiss.

“My boyfriend!” He cheered. “My genius boyfriend!” And Hiccup felt his stomach flip at being called that. Jack paused. “Boyfriend, right?” He asked unsure.

“Yeah, boyfriend.” Hiccup confirmed happily. They hadn’t really discussed it previously, but making it official felt damn good. And with a smile he let himself be kissed again, making sure to kiss back vigorously.

They pulled away and went over to Toothless, who had been clouded entirely in sand, shielding him from the light. Jack froze the sand with the tip of his staff and broke it. Toothless flew out of it and immediately went to Hiccup.

“I’m fine, bud.” He said, placing their forehead together. “We’re okay.”

A cold laughter interrupted their happy gathering and they turned to see Pitch, still stuck in ice, crackling like a lunatic.

“What’s so funny?” Jack asked tense. It was never a good sign when your enemy found amusement in your victory.

“You two think you’ve won, don’t you? No? Go ahead, celebrate. It’s already too late.” Pitch crackled.

“What do you —?” Hiccup went to ask, but found that he couldn’t move his legs. Terrified, he looked down and saw that the black sand had grabbed him, making him part of a large ritual circle that had appeared when they hadn’t looked.

“You gave your blood freely.” Pitch said, nodding his head to the cut on Hiccup’s leg that had slowly dripped on the floor. “And now the payment has been made.”

Hiccup clutched his leg in pain, as the blood as forcibly pulled out of his wound. The magic was gathering, making itself present in heavy windblasts that twirled the room.

“Complete the ritual, Hiccup!” Pitch yelled. “If you don’t, the spell will just take what it wants!” And Hiccup looked up at Jack and Toothless.

“Hiccup, no!” Jack yelled, but the black sand pushed him out of the circle and the winds kept him back. Pitch was right, Hiccup realized. If he didn’t guide the spell they could all be swept away in it. And for a moment Hiccup ignored the pain and stood up, taking control of the spell. His blood had mixed with the sand and the black circle glowed red for a moment. Hiccup concentrated, the magic that had been summoned was simply enormous, and he suddenly understood why such a steep price was required. The magic didn’t came from Hiccup like it normally would, but from something ancient, something older than mankind itself and it used Hiccup as a conductor. If Hiccup made one wrong move he would be swept away, completely at the mercy of this awful power. With shaking hands Hiccup willed it to listen and the floating crimson rune that held the lock cracked open.

In an instant both Toothless and Pitch were surrounded in a white light, both of them growing in size. Toothless was turning back into a dragon, but who knows what Pitch would turn into. Hiccup didn’t want to risk it. Pitch had been overjoyed at being set free and every vein in Hiccup’s body was telling him that was a bad idea. He had to do something.

The spell was still in progress, Hiccup realized. It was getting difficult but for the moment he was still in control. But how to stop Pitch? Maybe another Transformation spell would work? And Hiccup had become quite knowledgeable about those. But the pain in his leg almost became unbearable and Hiccup lost focus for a second. The magic immediately took the opportunity to rage freely and Hiccup had to use all his willpower to regain his control.

“Hurry it up, mortal!” The shape that was Pitch said. “The spell needs more blood!” And in the shape another scythe formed, ready to slash Hiccup right open. But a furious roar alerted him that Toothless was back to his old self and, with a plasma blast, drove Pitch back.

It was now or never, with the pain almost becoming too much. And for a brief moment he pondered over what to turn Pitch into. Toothless came up to him, cooing worriedly at his riders pain, and it gave Hiccup an idea. With every ounce of concentration he could muster, coupled with the knowledge he had gathered over the last months, he took control over the shape Pitch would turn into.

And with a few last cries of protest Hiccup turned him into a cat.

Hiccup grinned proudly for a moment before doubling over in pain, whatever power he had over the spell slipping away completely. The magic was still howling through the room and it demanded more blood. And in that small moment Hiccup knew he wouldn’t survive this.

Toothless nudged his face against Hiccup’s, pain and distress clearly visible in his eyes. “I’m sorry, bud.” Hiccup said in a strained voice. “I’m sorry to you too, Jack.” He said to his lover, who was still kept out of the circle by the sand.

“Hiccup, don’t you dare!” Jack yelled as tears streamed down his face.

Hiccup just smiled a small smile, thankful to be around loved ones, thankful to finally have turned Toothless back. Toothless head-butted him furiously, screaming all his rage and pain out in his face. Being just as stubborn as his rider, Toothless refused to give up. And just before Hiccup blacked out, he could see his dragon biting his tailfin, and ripping it clean off.

 

* * *

 

Jack screamed as the spell finally died down and Hiccup had collapsed.

The sand storm was weakening and Jack finally managed to push through. He quickly checked for Pitch to see if the coast was clear and only found a grey-black cat in his place. He would deal with that later, Jack thought.

Toothless was already at Hiccup’s side, ignoring his new wound in favor of gently trying to nuzzle Hiccup awake. Jack let out a breath when he saw that Hiccup was still breathing. He had likely passed out from pain. Understandably because his leg looked completely mangled. When the one cut hadn’t been enough for the spell, other openings had formed on his leg, and the flesh was slowly turning into a greyish black color. The wounds had also not stopped bleeding. Jack couldn’t fix this, he realized. Even with his Healing spells, this was beyond his power. He needed to get Hiccup to the hospital. But first, his leg.

Taking out his graduation necklace he used the incredibly sturdy cord to tie up Hiccup’s leg to prevent him from bleeding to death. Now he would have to fly out of there. The ice still on the wall had made the room a bit more brighter than before and the opening in the roof was visible. It also wasn’t big enough for a human to pass through, Jack now saw.  Toothless saw the look of despair on Jack’s face and did the only thing that came to mind and blasted the hole with a plasma blast, shielding the humans with his wings. Light now came from the newly made tunnel and Jack grabbed Hiccup up in his arms and made himself ready to fly up. Toothless tried to join Jack in flight but crashed after only a second.

“What’s wrong, Toothless?” Jack asked worried, hovering midair. A distraught shriek from the dragon made it clear that without his tailfin Toothless couldn’t keep himself in the air. Jack went back down to see if he could help Toothless, but the dragon roared at him, telling him that Hiccup was their first priority. The dragon went to lick his wounds closed and Jack shot one last glance at Pitch to see if he could leave Toothless behind here, but the cat had still trouble controlling his limbs and with the ice lying around he kept slipping. Jack figured it would be safe enough.

Quickly he shot upwards, Hiccup lying unconscious in his arms. It took a full minute before they reached the ground floor. The tunnel had been total darkness, but when they reached the surface, one of the ritual rooms with an open roof, the first thing Jack saw was the moon shining on them. Jack suddenly felt a lot calmer, as if it was telling him that it was going to be alright.

The door to the room shot open and North, Bunny, Toothiana and Sandy came running in.

“We heard an explosion, mate. What happened?” Bunny asked the moment he spotted Jack.

“Oh, no! What happened to Hiccup?” Toothiana said when she noticed Hiccup’s leg. Sandy immediately went to get a closer look and went to closing as many of the wounds as possible.

“It was Pitch.” Jack said. “He’s the one who’s been using Blood magic. He’s been using it to mess with Hiccup.”

Jack expected them to be shocked, but the group only shot each other a concerned look.

“Where is Pitch now?” North asked in the most serious tone Jack had ever heard him use.

“He’s down below there. Toothless is with him. Hiccup managed to turn him back.” Jack voice turned affectionate at the mention of Hiccup. “I don’t know how he did it, but he managed to reverse the spell on Toothless and at the same time defeat Pitch.”

“Defeat Pitch?” Toothiana asked, incredulous.

“Yeah.” Jack said fondly before smirking. “You’re not going to believe what Pitch looks like now.”

Sandy snapped his finger, alerting Jack that he was done, but Hiccup’s flesh still looked dead.

“Can’t you fix it completely?” Jack asked. Sandy shook his head in defeat. “I’m taking him to the hospital. Can I use the warp pad?”

“No problem, mate. Go get him fixed up.” Bunny said. “We’ll take care of Pitch and Hiccup’s dragon.

Jack wasted no more time and sped to the hospital, where Hiccup was once again whisked off. Now all that was left for Jack to do was wait. And call Hiccup’s father. Man, that was not going to be fun.

Stoick did indeed storm in worriedly after a few hours.

“Where’s Hiccup?!” He asked, grabbing Jack by the shoulders.

“He’s in surgery, sir. His leg is badly damaged, but he’s alive.” Jack said and Stoick visibly relaxed a little and together they waited anxiously for news about Hiccup.

When it came it left Jack with a bitter taste in his mouth. They’d had to cut off Hiccup’s leg, right under the knee. The news left both Jack and Stoick devastated. The surge of magic had completely infected Hiccup’s leg, and without Toothless’s sacrifice would have drained Hiccup dry. A dragon’s blood, especially a Night Fury’s, being so rare, only a little was needed. But for Hiccup’s lower leg it had come too late. The flesh had already rotted and if Jack hadn’t tied his amulet around it, the rot would have spread further.

Hiccup was still asleep, recovering from the incident and the two men kept watch at his bedside.

Eventually Bunny came by with Toothless and the dragon immediately went to Hiccup’s side. Toothless’s tailfin was completely destroyed too and the dragon would probably never fly again without it. It was all Jack’s fault, he thought. He did hurt the ones he cared about. If he had simply noticed sooner, or gone for help, none of this would have happened.

Bunny clapped him on the shoulder. “Come on, mate. We have something to talk about.”

“But Hiccup?” Jack asked, looking at his sleeping boyfriend.

“You can go, son.” Stoick said softly. “You look dead on your feet yourself. Toothless and I can hold the fort for a while.” Jack nodded, only then realizing just how tired he was. Bunny pulled him away and led them back to the Facility.

“Where are we going?” Jack asked as Bunny let them through a hall jack had never been.

“To Toothiana’s room.” Bunny said mysteriously and Jack perked up. He had never been there and he always did wonder what kind of research she did.

They finally stopped at a strange colorful door with a diamond like shape in the center. Bunny let his hand lip up in a purple light and placed it right in the middle of the pattern. The patterns started to twirl around until the wood had even melted away in the swirl. That’s when Jack realized it wasn’t actually a door, but a portal.

“In you go, mate.” Bunny said and Jack stepped through. The room he entered wasn’t a room at all. It was an open domain, a hanging palace in the sky. Small hummingbird girls with see-through wings fluttered passed him, caring cylinder golden boxes, chatting in a language Jack didn’t know.

“This is the Fairy Realm.” Jack said amazed. “But they said it didn’t exist.”

“A lot of things that people think are gone are still around.” Bunny said as he led them across a bridge and up a few stairs.

“Then how come nobody knows that?” Jack asked.

“That would be us.” North said as they reached a plateau on which he, Sandy and Toothiana stood. Jack looked confused.

“We collect the memories of people who have seen things that they shouldn’t.” Toothiana explained, carrying a similar box to the one the fairies carried. “It keeps the humans protected from others such as vampires and werewolves. And, in return, it keeps them from being labeled monsters and hunted down by humans.”

“You mean there is a whole secret layer to society?” Jack asked incredulous.

“Yes. Mani thought it would be for best to end fear humans had.” North explained.

“Mani?” Could it be the same one from the temple.

“Mani is man in moon. Most people think he’s god from long ago, but he’s just immortal alien from outer space.” North said with a twinkle in his eyes. “I believe you’ve met him before.”

So that moon beam at the ritual really was sent from Mani.

“Then why didn’t it work completely?”

“Jack, even Mani cannot break a Blood spell.” Toothiana said seriously. “We’re sorry for not noticing earlier.” The apology had come late, but Jack didn’t blame them. Pitch on the other hand . . .

“Did you know Pitch was evil?” He asked them. They seemed to hesitate for a moment.

“We didn’t.” Bunny said eventually. “In fact we weren’t really sure if it was really Pitch at all.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Seven years ago Pitch went on a mission with the dragon expert Valka, Hiccup’s mother.” Toothiana explained. “They were told to investigate some dragons who had begun to act strangely, but something went wrong. Valka went missing and Pitch . . . well, he was never quit the same after . . . But now we’ll finally know.” She said, showing the box in her hand.

“Is that . . .?”

“Pitch’s memories. He had been keeping them secret from us.” She said. “We figured we’d wait for you to watch it. You’ve earned the right  to know the truth too after everything.”

She pressed the box into a strange altar next to her. The top of the altar shimmered for a bit before turning into a mirror-like surface. But the mirror didn’t show their reflection, instead it showed the memories that had been held inside the box.

The image was a bit fuzzy at first but when it cleared up a mountain range could be seen. On top of a plateau stood three figures. One of them was Pitch Black and the other, a female, was undeniably Hiccup’s mother. She had the same brown hair, although a bit more washed out, with the same build. Next to her was a dragon Jack had never seen before, although it was probably Valka’s with the way it walked next to her, carrying the same protectiveness he had seen in Toothless.

“Cloudjumper is picking something up.” The mirror image of Valka said. “The dragons must be nearby.”

“Be careful than.” Pitch said as he drew his spear. He sounded younger and more relaxed for some reason. “We don’t know what has caused them to be so upset.”

And indeed three dragons, the same size of Cloudjumper, shot up from beneath the rocks, immediately firing wildly around. The three dodged the attacks and Pitch went into the fray.

“Wait!” Valka screamed. “There is something not right here. These are a peaceful species!”

“Yes, I can tell.” Pitch said sarcastically, as he dodged another fire blast. The two observed the dragon’s behavior for a while, dodging the blast as they came and finally they noticed something strange.

“Do you see it, Valka.” Pitch called. “Their shadows. They move on their own.”

“I see them.” The woman said. “Together, Cloudjumper!” And she and her dragon both summoned their fire to blast at the shadows. Out of it came a dark creature. The dragons were immediately frightened and dove back into the ground, with Cloudjumper following them to calm them down.

“Is that . . .?” Valka asked.

“A fearling.” Pitch sounded scared. “This is bad. We have to stop it now!”

They battled with it, but it seemed to do no good. It was almost as if the creature was toying with them. Running from shadow to shadow, popping up when they least expected it.

“Do you recall them being so strong?” Valka asked out of breath.

“No.” Pitch answered with the same tiredness. “Maybe they’ve evolved?”

They were getting tired and the creature managed to sneak up on them. It made them look into its eyes, ensnaring them to its will.

“Mama . . .” Came a voice and jack immediately recognized it as Hiccup’s, even though it was a bit more high pitched. “Mama . . . I’m scared. The monsters have taken me. They want to kill me  . . . Help! Please, help!” The voice called out with terrifying sobs. Valka trembled. The voice sounded exactly like her son and hearing him so frightened and in pain had her quite shaken, but she knew the moment it spoke that it couldn’t be Hiccup.

“Stop it, creature.” She demanded furiously, slashing the shadow that held her captive. “I know that’s not my son.” Valka said with certainty, sweat rolling down her face. The fearling backed off and Valka gave herself a moment to steel herself and whispered with sadness. “He hasn’t called me mama since he was five . . .”

But now was not the time to dwell. The fight wasn’t over and she looked to Pitch for help, but saw him in the same trance.

“Daddy! Please, help me!” The shrieking voice of a girl called.

“Seraphina . . .” Pitch said weakly.

“Snap out of it, Kozmotis. It’s not her!” Valka tried but the creature kept her at bay, attacking her while holding Pitch in the shadows.

“A bad man is trying to do bad things to me. It hurts, it hurts so bad.” Another bloodcurdling scream and Pitch was openly crying. “Please!” The voice begged.

“Seraphina, wait for me! I’m coming. Daddy’s coming for you!” He called out, completely unaware of his surroundings.

The creature grinned and pushed Valka aside before merging itself with Pitch, entering his mind. Pitch screamed as the creature tried to take over.

“No! Get out!” Pitch screamed, clutching his head.

“Kozmotis, fight it!” Valka called.

“I can’t!” Pitch grinded his teeth together, fighting a losing battle. “It’s too strong! Valka, please, it must not have a body.”

“You can’t ask me to kill you?” Valka asked hesitant.

“Then seal me. Make sure it can’t get out or use its powers.” Pitch struggled. “Hurry.”

Valka went to her belt and took out a green vial. “Bewilderbeast blood should do it.” She said before pulling the cork out with her teeth. Quickly she summoned the spell forth, the familiar red runes, that Jack had seen on Toothless’s spell, floating around Pitch, covering his skin like chains.

“Let his flesh be your prison and the man be your jailor.” She chanted. “Let your power be confined and the spell only be broken by another.”

Pitch stopped struggling, falling to the ground. Valka hurried to him.

“Kozmotis?” She called. “Is that you?”

“Barely.” Pitch answered, his voice almost a whisper. “I can still feel him, waiting in the back of my mind.”

“Then that’s enough for now. We will get you help.” She said. They were interrupted by a dragon shriek from below. It sounded hurt. “Cloudjumper!” She said worried. “You stay here, Kozmotis. I’ll go get Cloudjumper.”

“Be careful. There could be more out there.” He gasped out. Valka nodded and then jumped down, disappearing completely.

Pitch sat up, taking a few deep breaths for a moment before he gasped again, a shooting pain terrorizing his head. Pitch collapsed and the memory ended.

The group was silent for a while, processing what they had just witnessed.

“This is worse than we thought.” Bunny said gravely.

“Poor Pitch.” Toothiana sniffed. “All this time there has been a fearling eating at his mind, growing stronger and stronger. And we didn’t know.”

“And Valka?” Jack asked. Hiccup would want to know.

“We had hoped that this would tell us what happened to her too. But it seemed Pitch didn’t know either.” Toothiana said sadly.

“Where is Pitch . . . or the fearling now?” Jack asked and North grabbed a cat transportation box from the side of the plateau.

“Now for the tricky part. Everyone on their places.” Bunnymund said. Sandy drew a trap circle around the box that would prevent the fearling from moving and North and Toothiana drew their swords, the runic inscriptions lighting up. “Strike it quickly.” And telepathically Bunny opened the box.

The cat jumped out, scratching the circle, but otherwise unable to move. Bunny and Sandy cast a spell that would separate the fearling from the cat. The fearling raged against its magical cage, while the cat hissed, trying to get as far away from the demon as possible. North and Toothiana struck with precision, piercing the fearling down and holding it until it evaporated. Pitch went back to calmly licking his paw and Sandy dispelled the circle.

They observed Pitch’s behavior for a bit, trying to see if there was any trace of the fearling left. But the cat just ignored them and held no recognition of the humans in front of him. In fact, he almost seemed a bit too much like a normal cat.

“Well would you look at that.” Bunny said. “I don’t know how exactly Hiccup did it, but even his mind has been turned into a cat.”

“That boy has talent, no?” North said happily.

“Aren’t you sad that Pitch is now completely gone?” Jack asked.

“If there was anything left of him at all. I don’t think his mind survived the last seven years.” Toothiana said. “In fact, I think this might be for the better.” She said as Pitch finally stopped ignoring them and approached Jack. He meowed a bit demanding and Jack picked him up.

“Still asking me to get you something huh?” Jack said, not really that mad anymore and went to pet Pitch’s head.

“Seems like he wants to stay with you.” Toothiana said with a smile and Sandy had the nerve to outright snicker.

“Oooh, no. I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Jack said hesitant, trying to put Pitch down. But Pitch immediately hissed, telling Jack that he better not stop petting him and Jack complied with defeat.

“Why not? He seems to like it.” North said and Pitch started to purr.

“Alright . . . Fine.” Jack sighed. “He can stay with me. Anything else you need me to do, or is making me adopt humans turned cats all?” He had meant it as a joke but their expressions turned serious again.

“If what we saw indicated that the fearlings are back and getting stronger, we will need all the help that we can get.” Toothiana said. “North, I think it’s time.”And North nodded, suddenly beaming with excitement.

“Time for what?” Jack asked and North answered.

“For you to become Guardian.”

 

* * *

 

Hiccup’s graduation came a month after he had been released from the hospital. It had taken a full week for him to wake up first and another to completely recover, even though he was now missing his left leg.

Hiccup had immediately made plans to make his own prosthetic and one for Toothless that would allow them both to fly again and it left Jack once more in awe of Hiccup. The design Hiccup had come up with was ingenious. His leg was completely made of a light black metal, that was wrapped around in the shape of a normal foot, but left curvy crevices open that twisted all over the prosthetic and would help link Hiccup to Toothless’s new stirrup that allowed him to control his tailfin. Another cool idea Hiccup had come up with was placing a small fire stone in the center of his new leg and if needed could light flames up from the clefts, a feature Jack was sure of was made because Hiccup liked to display his love for dragons. The moment Hiccup had finished his design the duo was back in the air again.

Such as now. The graduation of a Witch was a very special public event and the audience only had a shriek to warn them of the incoming dragons flying low over them. Hiccup had come to his graduation in true dragon rider style and was joined by his friends Astrid and Fishlegs, and they too rode their dragons proudly. The audience gasped in horror, but calmed down after they realized the dragons were friendly. Jack found their fright quite laughable, and when he spotted Hiccup looking like a smug bastard he knew he wasn’t the only one.

The riders dismounted and made their dragons with at the side of the stage. They were all dressed in traditional Witch’s robes. They were long sleeved, and the robe reached the floor. They were individually decorated, each markings symbolic for their own family. Fishlegs family had little boats on top of waves of the bottom of his clothes and on his back was a lobster depictured. Astrid robe was decorated by axes and shields, stitched on with golden threat on the light blue fabric. Hiccup worn a green robe, with pictures of dragons on the bottom, shooting flames upwards until they reached his brown belt. The Committee, which included Jack, also wore special robes, much to the dismay of the Ice Mage. The clothes shafted like crazy and it wasn’t like he could just scratch his ass right here on stage. The light blue robes with frost patterns didn’t look good on him if Jack was honest. Hiccup’s robes though . . .

One by one they were called up the stage. First Fishlegs, who beamed proudly as his thesis on Gronckle Iron awarded him with the title Witch and was gifted the amulet. Then Astrid, who briefly waved to a black-haired girl in the audience before too receiving the title and necklace. Finally Hiccup entered the stage, Stoick and Gobber cheering him on. Even though Hiccup’s father didn’t approve of his son studying magic he was still immensely proud. Toothless also joined the cheering with a loud roar, causing some in the audience to shriek.

Both Jack and Hiccup snickered as the rites began. North asked a few formal questions which Hiccup answered solemnly and North finally declared Hiccup a Witch. Hiccup smiled as Jack went to put the amulet around his neck, brushing his cheek affectionately. They were lost in each other’s eyes for a bit until Bunny coughed behind them discreetly. It was now time for the final part and Toothiana took out Valka’s Grimoire. Jack placed an soothing hand on Hiccup’s back, as Hiccup accepted the book with tears in his eyes. And then it was over.

The crowd applauded them enthusiastically and the three new Witches left the stage. They were immediately swept away by friends and family congratulating them for such an important occasion. Jack watched his boyfriend from afar. Hiccup smiled brightly the entire time, clutching Valka’s Grimoire tightly to his chest and Stoick’s hand proudly resting on his shoulder, as he received congratulations and praise from the people around him. There would be a big celebration tonight by the looks of it.

Jack wondered what would happen now. Seeing as Toothless wouldn’t fit into Jack’s apartment, both the Night Fury and Hiccup had moved back in with Stoick. Even though Jack now had Pitch to keep him company, and the cat switched often between being either likable or an asshole, the apartment still felt empty without Hiccup there. Fortunately it was only an hour flight from Jack’s home to Hiccup’s, but with Jack being a Guardian now, which meant having to go on missions to defeat the coming fearling threat and Hiccup now having his mother’s Grimoire, there would be little time to meet. The other Guardians had asked him to not tell Hiccup about what they had seen about Valka, preferring to collect a bit more information first, but Jack’d wondered if maybe he should. Hiccup had a right to know, but he was also sure that Hiccup would immediately fly off to Valka’s last location, consequences be damned. So Jack had decided to keep quiet . . . For now.

“So here’s where you’ve been.” Hiccup asked as he came over. “Why aren’t you over there with us? I thought you liked a happy crowd.”

“I thought I’d let you have your moment. If I went over there I would only steal the show.” Jack joked and Hiccup gave him a small punch. Hanging around Astrid after she came back apparently had some consequences. Hiccup went to hug him after though so maybe Jack could deal with mock hit.

“Please do.” Hiccup murmured into Jack’s shoulder. “I’m tired of the attention. I have to shake everyone’s hand and I don’t even know half these people.”

“Come here then.” Jack said, rocking Hiccup gently.

“Jack, I’ve been wondering about something.” Hiccup said gently. “About where we’ll go from here, with me living with my dad again and you here with your job. ”

“Me, too.” Jack confessed, feeling dread settle in his stomach. He sincerely hoped this wasn’t a break up speech.

“So I’ve made a present for you.” Hiccup said as he pulled away. That left Jack curious. Hiccup pulled out a small brown parcel and handed it to Jack.

Jack carefully opened the package and pulled off the top to reveal a necklace. It was a simple design, with only a round pendant the size of a Ping-Pong ball, hanging on a cord

“I have another one like that.” Hiccup said as he pulled a second necklace from around his neck. “I enchanted it with a communication charm. Now no matter where we are we’ll be able to see each other and talk. And the best part is that they don’t need things like the internet or a battery to work.”

“Thanks, Hiccup.” Jack said amazed, butterflies twirling around in his stomach and he went to give Hiccup a kiss on the lips . . . only to hit his chin. Confused he pulled away and measured himself up.

“Have you grown taller than me?” Jack asked, bewildered.

“Huh? Yeah, must be so.” Hiccup said, noticing it now too for the first time.

“Oh man, does this mean I have to lean up now?” Jack asked, causing Hiccup to laugh. “That is going to take some getting used to.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be sure to help you with that.” Hiccup smirked devious, before leaning down to give Jack a proper kiss.

“Hey, Hiccup, Jack, stop smooching!” Astrid called from far away. “We’re about to leave for diner. We’re having a party after that.”

“Well, time to join the crowd again.” Hiccup said with a sigh, slipping his arm around Jack’s waist and Jack doing the same as they started to walk back.

“Do you think we can maybe sneak away a bit early tonight for a little privacy at my place?” Jack asked with a smirk. “I’ve brought lube this time.”

Hiccup laughed and gave Jack’s ass a squeeze. “I’m sure we’ll find a way.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Wow. it's done. This is the longest thing I have ever written. (as well as the most plot filled) But I had fun.
> 
> Please, leave me a comment and tell me what you think.


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